Kimberly Gilbert
by VampireGirl1797
Summary: Kimberly Gilbert is Elena and Jeremy's older sister. She left Mystic Falls a few months after their parents died in a car accident. Now nearly two years later, she decides it's time to come home. How will she cope with vampires, witches, werewolves and not to mention her attraction to a certain hybrid? Set season two episode 17, "Know Thy Enemy". Mature adult warning.
1. Know Thy Enemy

Chapter One

I couldn't stop the shudder that echoed throughout my body when I saw the sign: ' _Welcome to Mystic Falls'._

When I left this town a few years ago I honestly had no idea whether I would come back. I knew that Mystic Falls was where a majority of my family lived but that was both a good thing and a bad thing for very different reasons. I left Mystic Falls in August 2009- three months after my parents, Miranda and Grayson Gilbert, died in a car accident. I had stayed for as long as I could- I hadn't wanted to leave Jeremy or Elena when they would need their big sister more than ever. I took on the roll of comforting them and being there for them as well as I possibly could, pushing my feelings of loss to the back of my mind, ignoring them as best as I could. I knew that pretending I wasn't broken over the loss of my family members wasn't healthy, but I also knew that if I acknowledged my feelings then I wouldn't be able to help Jeremy and Elena either. So I pretended that it wasn't my parents that had died, though nobody else knew that. I went into complete denial so that I could be completely there for them both without having to worry about my grief intervening. At first it was hard- especially with strangers and family smothering us all with condolences and sympathy, but I just brushed off the fact that they weren't just concerned about Jeremy and Elena but me as well. I wanted them to have all of the attention, to help them with their heartache, and that was how it went for three months.

Elena was the one out of the both of my siblings who had _seemed_ better- I knew that the forced smile she wore every morning, or whenever she thought someone was looking at her, was just a front and she was a hairs width away from breaking. When I noticed this I went out and brought her a new journal. I remembered her mentioning to Mom before the accident that she had filled her previous one, and I knew that since they had died she hadn't picked up a pen- writing down her feelings was an outlet for her- keeping it all bottled up is what made her worse. So I bought her a new journal- an A5 sized olive green leather bound journal and I got her a silver fountain pen to write with. When I gave them to her she broke down, but in a good way. I held her until the tears stopped, holding her head to my chest, kissing her hair every now and then. After her sobs subsided she thanked me and gave me the first real smile I'd seen from her since the accident.

Jeremy was a little more difficult. He was acting out, he went out one day about a month after the accident and returned with a whole new wardrobe consisting of one colour: black. His appearance had become quite gothic and it had worried me. I was scared that he was going to block out his family and go through a rebellious stage- and not long after that I had found a clear zip lock bag about the size of my palm a quarter full of what looked like weed, confirming my fears. Part of me was completely pissed when I found the drugs but the other part was terrified- terrified of what this could and would lead to. When he had returned home that day I had confronted him, demanding to know why he was doing drugs. That had been his boiling point- he broke down on me, telling me how much he missed Mom and Dad and how a part of him wished he had died with them so he didn't have to feel the pain of living without them. I held him until he stopped crying and his breathing evened out, I tucked him in bed I left him. From there I went into the attic to find the one thing that had always kept Jeremy calm, right up until a few years before when he'd decided he was too old for it. It was a stuffed animal that had belonged to Mom when she was in collage; Dad had won it for her on their third date at a fair. It was a Koala, it had been losing the colour in its coat but that didn't matter. I took it down to the second floor and went into Mom and Dad's room, spraying the Koala with a squirt of Mom's perfume and Dad's aftershave before I went back into Jeremy's room and gently placed it into his arms. He had hugged it tighter immediately, inhaling deeply and I prayed that his grief would become more bearable for him. After that he had eased up- some colour started to return to his wardrobe and I didn't find any more drugs.

After the three months passed, and both Jeremy and Elena's pain started to reach a point for them to manage it on their own, it meant that I wasn't needed as much anymore. Which I knew was a good thing. But this meant that without being able to distract myself with managing their pain, my own was getting harder and harder to keep at bay. I hadn't allowed myself to acknowledge my parents death, and without Jeremy and Elena needing me as much, I was started to feel suffocated by the constant reminders of them _everywhere._ Reminders that I just couldn't ignore- the pictures of them hung on the walls like a ghost haunting me reminding me of what had been lost. Each room held memories we had all shared- the Christmas' sat around the tree opening presents every year- the family breakfast's we shared every morning, the times we would all bicker when someone was in the bathroom and we needed to get ready. The house made me feel like I was trapped- doomed to see the times I had with them to remind me of what I didn't have anymore.

So, like a coward I left, with Aunt Jenna there to take care of Jeremy and Elena it made it easier to convince myself that they didn't need me. I left town and moved in with my Uncle John. I hated him, which ironically was exactly what I needed- being surrounded by adults I loved would only remind me of my parents' death. I left so that I could lock my feelings towards my parent's firmly back into the box that I stored them in in the back of my mind. Despite being away for almost two years I hadn't once acknowledged my loss. I couldn't. Which was exactly why I was dreading my return. I was terrified of being locked back into the same house that I had once found suffocating. But I knew I needed to come back. It was time. I missed my family, and it was time for me to stop being selfish. At least that was what I was telling myself- it got harder and harder for me not to turn the car around the closer I got to home. Just because I knew I needed to do this it didn't make it any easier.

Ten minutes after I passed the _'Welcome to Mystic Falls'_ sign, I arrived at my house. I parked the car in front and stared straight ahead, trying not to hyperventilate.

 _You can do this. Do this for your family. For Elena and Jeremy._ I thought to myself, my thoughts triggered the guilt I felt for leaving and before I knew it I was standing outside the door with my one suitcase in hand. I searched for the key on my keys, stopping when I got to the slightly rusty silver one, as I went to put it in the keyhole I mumbled a silent prayer that they hadn't changed the locks, and sighed in relief when the key turned, allowing me to open the door. I stepped over the threshold, pulling my suitcase behind me and shut the door without a second thought. I turned around, my back resting against the door preparing myself for the freak out that was potentially going to happen. With a sigh, I opened my eyes, taking everything in. I noticed that nothing had changed, so much so that I could almost pretend that it was still two years go and I had just come back from the store or running errands.

Then all at once the memories attacked me, the first one being when I'd told Jeremy and Elena that I was leaving, while we were sat at the dining table, which I could see clearly right in front of me.

' _What do you mean you're leaving?' Jeremy asked, shock clear in his voice, but I didn't miss the slither of pain in his tone as well._

' _I have to go, Jer. I can't stay here anymore.' I replied, my heart squeezing painfully at the expression on his face- he looked crushed._

' _Jer's right, Kim. We just lost Mom and Dad we can't lose you too.' Elena said, tears streaming down her cheeks, which triggered my own, I hated that I was causing them more pain._

' _I'm so sorry. I wish I didn't have to leave, but this is just something I need to do. And it's okay if you don't understand, it's okay if you want to be mad at me for it, but I do need to leave, at least for a little while.' I said, holding back the sobs that threatened to overtake my body._

 _Both Elena and Jeremy looked completely crushed, it was as if I'd told them that Mom and Dad had died all over again, and it almost made me take everything back, it almost made me tell them that I would stay. But I knew I couldn't, I knew that if I did stay I'd be feeling the same way I was now sooner or later. I needed to leave. I wiped my nose on my sleeve, glancing between two of the people I loved most in the world, wondering why I couldn't be strong for them, I felt like I was failing them and I could feel my face fall, accompanied by fresh tears. They must have noticed my expression because their expressions softened simultaneously. They gathered me in their arms and held me close. Once my tears subsided, they pulled back and each laid a kiss on both of my cheeks._

' _I'm not going to lie and say that I won't miss you. Because I will. A lot. But if this is something you need to do, then I respect your choice.' Elena said, a forced smile present on her face._

' _Me too,' Jeremy replied, his statement reinforced with a nod._

' _Thank you.' I responded, using my sleeves to wipe the moisture away from my cheeks, the action made my skin feel raw and soar._

'Kim?' I was pulled back to the present by a shocked voice calling out from behind me; I realised with a start that I had somehow made my way over to the dining room table. My head whipped around in the direction the voice came from and I couldn't help but freeze in place when I saw who it was.

'Elena?' I felt my eyes fill with tears as soon as my mouth formed the word, I saw Elena rushing over to me, I met her half way, colliding with her so hard we nearly fell to the floor, we both laughed through our tears and threw our arms around each other.

'You're back.' Elena murmured through her tears, squeezing me tighter.

'I'm back.' I confirmed, also squeezing her tighter as if to prove it, 'I missed you so much, Elena.'

'I missed you too Kimmie.' She said, using her and Jeremy's nickname for me.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted our moment; we broke apart and looked over to see a man with sandy hair and blue eyes standing by the front door. He wore blue jeans a plain brown shirt with a beige leather jacket. I noticed the confused expression on his face and smiled when I realised how crazy this must have looked to him. Elena waved her right hand in the direction of the man, keeping her left firmly around my waist almost as if she thought I would disappear if she let go, I placed my arm around her waist and squeezed her in assurance.

'Alaric this is Kimberly my big sister, Kimmie this is Alaric, Jenna's boyfriend.' Elena introduces.

'Call me Kim, please.' I said as I smiled and awkwardly waved my hand in his direction, seeing as I still had my sister keeping me restrained. Alaric's expression only became more confused, but he offered me a friendly smile.

'I didn't know you had a sister.' Alaric said, glancing at me as if trying to see any similarities.

'Ah well, I left a few months after our parents passed away and I doubt it would have been likely for me to come up in conversation.' I said, defending my sister.

Elena squeezed my waist in thanks; she knew I understood the real reason- she handled me leaving the way I handled our parents dying- by pretending it didn't happen.

'So where is everyone anyway? Jeremy? Jenna?' I asked, glancing around as if they were hiding and waiting to jump out at any moment, which I knew wasn't the case; no one had known I was planning to come home.

'Jenna, Ric and I had a bit of a falling out earlier so she's gone to stay on campus, and Jeremy's with Bonnie,' Elena's response answered more questions than it answered, and when she moved her eyes from mine when she told me about Jeremy's whereabouts I knew she was hiding something- that was her tell, she couldn't maintain eye contact while telling a lie to save her life.

'Elena…' I murmured, my tone holding a hint of warning.

'Honestly, Kimmie so much has happened since you've been gone and it would take so much time to catch you up on everything.' Elena said, biting her lip, which hinted at her nerves.

'So tell me. I have the time.' I replied, raising my eyebrows in an almost challenging manner.

'I don't know if you would even believe me…' She trailed off, refusing once again to look into my eyes.

'Hey,' I started, gently gripping her chin to make her look me in the eyes, I saw how nervous she was which only spurred me on, 'I'm your sister, you know that you can tell me anything. I promise you that I will try and keep an open mind if what you need to tell me is that unbelievable. Okay?'

'Okay,' she agreed, taking my hand and leading me over to the dining room table, sitting me on the end and herself on the other side to my left. To my surprise, Alaric took the empty seat to her right. I looked between the both of them apprehensively wondering what on earth they were going to tell me.

'Okay so if we're going to tell you _everything_ we're going to have to go back to 2009 when I started back at school…' Elena began, she told me everything that had happened, from Damon and Stefan Salvatore coming to town, how they turned out to be vampires, all the way up to now, where she and her friends were trying to find a way out of the curse that Elena would have to be sacrificed in to complete. She told me about her being adopted, about how her birth mother, who also happened to be Alaric's wife, was now a vampire and how she had turned up this morning unannounced when Jenna believed she was dead, causing Jenna to leave due to her feeling betrayed. She told me about how Uncle John was her birth father, which I had given her a sympathetic smile for that one because, come on- who deserved him as a father? She told me about how she was in love with Stefan Salvatore and about how Jeremy was in love with Bonnie. When she was finally finished my head felt like it was going to explode with all of the information she had given me. I moaned at the pain forming in my head and rubbed my temples to try and relieve some of the pressure. At one point I'd wanted to ask Elena if she was joking, but the honesty in her eyes and the fact that she hadn't looked away from my gaze once proved that she was telling the truth.

'Vampire's, witches and doppelgänger's. Trust you lot to get yourselves in this much trouble when I'm gone, eh?' I nudged her arm, attempting to make light of the situation. She and Alaric laughed in surprise at my attitude- I supposed they were both expecting me to call them crazy, but I knew and trusted my sister.

'You believe me?' Elena asked, shock evident in her tone.

'Of course I do Elena. You're my sister and I trust you to tell me the truth.' I said, my voice soft as I squeezed her hand.

Her smile lit up her face as she leaned forward and hugged me tight. Alaric remained silent throughout the whole exchange, but I thought I could see a glimmer of respect in his eyes.

'So, what're the plans for today?' I asked, once we'd both pulled back from our embrace.

'Well Damon, Bonnie and Jeremy are at the old witch burial ground trying to find a way to kill Klaus. And Jenna asked me to go to the Lockwood's to accept a cheque for her, Stefan should be here soon to take me.' She replied glancing at her watch, I looked at the clock on the wall and gasped.

'Bloody hell- two and a half hours have gone by!' I exclaimed in shock.

'Well what can I say? You had a lot to catch up on. And have you been reading Harry Potter again?' Elena asked with a wink, making me chuckle.

'Maybe…' I responded, whenever I reread Harry Potter I tended to favourite British curse words, which Elena and my Mom found amusing.

'Actually guys I'd better get going, I'm going to swing by the grill for something to eat and then believe it or not I have papers to grade.' He said as he stood up and pushed his chair back under the table.

'Huh. That's the most normal thing I've heard since I walked through the door.' I said my tone teasing. He gave me a friendly smile in response as he made his way to the door after saying goodbye to Elena and myself.

I made my way upstairs, dragging my blue suitcase with white polka dots behind me. I walked towards my door, which was next door to Elena's, with Jeremy's room being on the other side of Elena's. I couldn't help but pause at the closed mahogany coloured door, wondering what it would look like. Realistically I had been gone long enough for them to do something different with it, for all I knew it could be a home gym. With that thought in mind, I twisted the doorknob and hesitantly pushed it open.

The whole room looked exactly the same as it did when I left. My queen sized bed with a white frame was still in the centre of the back wall opposite my door, the sky blue sheets, which matched the colour of my walls, were just as crisp as they would have been if they'd been freshly made. My white furniture was still where it had been two years ago; my dressing table on the same wall as my door, my two bedside tables on either side of my bed, the chest of draws on the wall to the left as you walked through the door, a mirror that was just as long and about half as wide as the draws sat above, attached to the wall while my white framed bookcase sat on the wall to the left of the door. The white fluffy rug sat in the centre of the room above my beech coloured hard wood floors. After taking a deep breath I walked into my room, wheeling my suitcase behind me, I gently lay it down at the foot of my bed.

'Well… this suitcase isn't going to unpack itself.' I muttered, unzipping my bag and completing my task. It didn't take me any longer than an hour and just as I was shutting my suitcase into my closet the doorbell rang.

I raced down stairs, knowing who it would be before I got there, I somehow managed to beat Elena, but I imagined that she was still getting ready. I swung the door open with so much force it hit the wall with a bang. My gaze immediately went to the man on the other side of the threshold; he was of average height, with soft brown hair and green eyes. He wore a chequered green shirt and dark blue jeans with no jacket.

'Stefan Salvatore. Pleased to meet ya. I would invite you in but I assume you've already received an invitation.' I murmured with a teasing wink.

He responded with a genuine, warm smile that lit up his face. I could tell by his eyes that he was kind so I held out my hand to offer a formal introduction.

'I'm Kimberly Gilbert, big sister. This goes without saying but if you hurt my sister, I will cut your balls off, vampire healing or not I assume it will still hurt like a bitch.' I said a sickly sweet smile on my face. His smile only widened, not at the least intimidated, which personally I thought was his mistake. Though I noticed a glimmer of respect in his eyes, which I supposed was better than nothing.

'Noted. Nice to meet you, Kimberly.' He took my hand and gave it a firm shake, I nodded impressed.

'Please, call me Kim.' I said giving him a genuine smile this time.

I turned as I heard footsteps coming from behind me.

'You're not scaring him away are you?' Elena asked, completely serious. Let's just say I tended to be protective of my siblings and that usually meant that anyone who even glanced their way got the 'don't you hurt my sibling speech', which I personally found very intimidating.

'Not at all' I replied giving her an innocent look, she simply rolled her eyes, but a smile was clearly present on her face, so I knew she wasn't really annoyed.

'Right well, we better get going or we'll be late… are you coming?' Elena asked turning to me. I thought about it- I didn't have anything else to do and it might be nice to see some old faces.

'Sure, why not? I'm not accepting the cheque though, I'm leaving that completely up to you.' I said reaching to grab my pink suede jacket of the rack from where I'd put it earlier. It was new and I loved it; it went perfectly with my high waisted black skinny jeans, plain white-cropped vest top and my black Vans. My long honey blonde hair reached to just above my waist, my natural curls giving it bounce and volume. The white top made my olive complexion much more prominent and somehow also made my deep blue eyes stand out more also.

'Let's go.' I murmured once I'd pulled my jacket on and pulled my hair from underneath.

Stefan looked at me with a confused expression as if he was surprised I was ready so fast, Elena also noticed the look and explained for me with a smile.

'She never carries a bag with her. If it doesn't fit in her pockets then she doesn't carry it around.'

I nodded in conformation as I watched Elena grab a huge bag probably full with things she wouldn't even touch the whole evening- basically my worst nightmare. We were on our way to the Lockwood mansion once Elena had managed to find her keys, in a bag that may as well have been Hermione's bag that had an extension charm placed on it, she was digging for that _long._

In all honesty, the whole thing was completely boring. Elena and Stefan went to accept the cheque as soon as we got there, leaving me to 'mingle' on my own. Which didn't quite go that well as no one seemed to recognise me which I found particularly interesting because my hair may have been dyed black and cut to my shoulders, and I may have worn brown coloured contacts when I used to live here, but did that mean that I was unrecognisable to the people I grew up with? Apparently so. So I was left to pick at the small buffet that was placed in one of the many rooms on the ground floor of the Lockwood mansion, avoiding eye contact because to be honest a part of me was slightly relieved that no one seemed to recognise me- I was worried about people bringing up my parents and I didn't want to deal with that. I was desperately trying to avoid the temptation of sticking a cocktail stick in my eye just for something to do when I heard a loud crash. In a frenzied dash I pushed my way through the crowd of people not caring if I pissed anyone off, when I got to the front I saw Uncle John on the floor, blood dripping from his neck and immediately thought: vampire. But what vampire would be stupid enough to attack someone in the middle of a founder's party? It seemed a little suspicious to me. My gaze moved around the rest of the room as I tried to locate Stefan and Elena, once I met Stefan's gaze I made my way over.

'Hey, Stefan what the hell was that?' I asked, tilting my head in the direction of the commotion.

'I don't know for sure, but my money's on Isobel.' Stefan responded, looking to Elena as if to see if she was all right, as I followed his gaze I couldn't help but frown when I met a pair of brown eyes. I don't know how or why but I just knew that that wasn't Elena.

'Where the hell is Elena?' I blurted out before I convinced myself that I was just being paranoid.

'What the hell are you talking about?' Katherine responded, a mask of innocence on her face.

'Where is she?' I demanded, beyond angry that she was playing this game with me, for all I knew Elena's life was in danger.

'What are you talking about?' Stefan asked this time, he was eying both Katherine and myself with uncertainty.

'You know what, let's make this really easy. Who am I?' I asked Katherine, knowing that she wouldn't know- how could she? I'd only gotten to town a few hours ago and I was pretty certain that Jeremy or Elena hadn't mentioned me before then. That question threw her immediately, which obviously confirmed my theory. Her expression became annoyed for a moment before a devilish smirk formed on her face.

'Clever little girl. Tell me how did you know? I've managed to play Elena successfully on more than one occasion and suddenly you can just tell with a look?' She asked, curiosity glimmering in her eyes, in all fairness, Stefan looked curious as well.

'Quit stalling Katherine. Where is she?' I asked, my tone becoming more threatening, I could feel my eyes harden in warning, and shockingly enough fear shined in her eyes before a brief second and she took an instinctive step back before she caught herself, her eyes going blank and a smirk reappearing on her face.

'Isobel took her. Apparently Klaus wanted her and the moonstone in exchange for my safety and I was more than happy to provide both.' She answered her smirk growing as she became smugger with each word.

'You little bitch. I hope Klaus finds you and I hope he makes you suffer. Because after all the shit you've put Elena through you deserve it, and you know with how long you've been running from him I'm sure he'd be more than happy to drag out your torture for just as long.' I said my tone laced with venom, and when her smirk fell from her face, it grew on mine.

I reached over and grabbed Stefan's wrist, pulling him behind me towards the exit. We needed to find her. I refused to lose her to this Klaus guy.

'Well that was impressive' Stefan said, admiration present within his tone. I turned and sent him a small smile to show my thanks, I wasn't particularly up for answering him, my sole focus was finding Elena. I let go of his wrist when we reached the car and quickly got into the passenger side.

'What do we do?' I asked, trying my best not to panic, 'I mean we know Isobel took her but it's not like she left us a forwarding address.' I muttered my gaze fixed on the window to my right, not wanting him to see the worry in my eyes.

'Honestly I-.' My head whipped around as Stefan was abruptly cut off and I saw Katherine standing there a syringe in his neck.

'Vervain? Seriously?' I exclaimed, rolling my eyes, 'you're a dirty player you know that?' I asked, wondering what she was going to do to subdue me.

Before I knew it she was over on my side, my door wide open as she stood over me.

'Oh, honey you have no idea.' She smirked grabbing me by the hair and smashing my forehead on the dashboard, blackness consumed me instantly.

'Kim?' I heard someone shout, making me groan I moved my hand in the direction of the noise, swatting them away hoping that whoever it was would get the message and leave me to sleep. They didn't.

'Kim?' It was louder and this time they shook me for good measure. With a sigh of annoyance I opened my eyes only to realise I was in a car.

 _What the hell happened?_ I wondered.

I looked over to the driver's side to see Stefan, his gaze one of worry. I frowned at the sight and winced when the action made my forehead throb in pain. The pain triggered my memory and I remembered Katherine smashing my forehead into the dashboard. Bitch. That was gonna scar.

'You all right? She got you with a pretty big dose of vervain.' I muttered my eyes checking him over as if the vervain had left a physical injury. To be honest he did look pretty weak and he was sickly pale, which worried me. 'Do you need blood? You look pretty weak dude.' I said offering him my wrist.

His expression transformed from worry to amusement and shock, causing me to frown again, was he losing it? Did vervain make vampires go insane?

'You're sat there with a possible concussion and you're worried about the vampire with supernatural healing?' He asked, laughing again to himself as if he'd just told a joke.

'Uh, yeah. Like I said, you don't look so good, so you want some blood or not?' I asked losing my patience a little.

He looked over to me again, a slight smile on his face, his eyes soft with wonder as he shook his head.

'No, I'm good thank you. But here, you look like you need some.' He bit into his wrist and offered it to me, remembering what Elena had told me about the healing properties of vampire blood I didn't hesitate as I took his wrist and gulped down a mouthful of blood. I immediately felt better; my headache subsided and I could feel the wound on my forehead start to close up.

'She's lucky she didn't get blood on my jacket- it's my new favourite' I muttered, not realising I'd said it out loud until I heard Stefan laughing next to me, deciding not to ask for an elaboration, I got back to the matter at hand instead.

'What about Elena?' I asked glancing around only to realise it was now dark outside. If Isobel had taken Elena she had more than a few hours to gain a decent head start. But for whatever reason, I didn't feel dread in my gut, it was if I just _knew_ that she was okay.

'She's fine, she called me just before you woke up, Isobel did take her but she got away when Isobel killed herself in the graveyard she was buried.' Stefan answered.

I nodded accepting his answer, 'she's at home now then?' I asked.

'Yeah, Damon went to pick her up, she called him when I didn't answer my phone.'

Satisfied with his answer, I moved my gaze back to the window, staring blankly and not taking any particular interest in my surroundings. Before I knew it we were back at my house, parked out front.

I turned to Stefan, 'thanks for the ride. Are you coming in or?'

'Yeah I think I will,' he answered with a friendly smile, opening his door.

'Good', I replied opening my door and closing it with a small slam, 'because I was going to say if you weren't, Elena's probably gonna wanna talk to you about everything that's happened today.'

I opened the door, knowing it wouldn't be locked with Elena most likely waiting up to see Stefan.

'She's probably going to want to see-,' Stefan trailed off as a mass of dark brown hair suddenly leaped into my arms, I hugged her back instantly happy that she was okay.

'Are you ok?' I asked her, pulling back from her to check her for any bruises or flesh wounds.

'Yes I'm fine, I promise.' She said, 'me getting kidnapped is pretty much routine at this point' She joked, trying to make light of the situation.

'Well it's obviously because of your extremely good looks as well as your sparkling personality. I mean I know you're a doppelgänger and everything but personally I think that comes in last on the list of your most impressive qualities' I replied giving her a wink, making her laugh and hug me tighter.

'I'm gonna leave you to fill Stefan in okay, but promise you'll fill me in tomorrow?' I asked, raising my brows, making my expectations clear.

'Of course.'

'Good. Is Jeremy home?' I asked.

'Yup. He's in his room probably asleep.'

'Okay well, good night Lena. I love you.' I gave her one last squeeze and kissed her forehead before moving away.

'I love you too.' Elena called out after me.

'Night Stef,' I said as I passed him, giving him a nod and a light punch on the arm.

'Night, Kim' He responded politely.

I made my way to Jeremy's door, not being able to resist seeing him again after so long but when I got there I heard voices coming from the other side of the door. Somehow I just _knew_ it was Bonnie, before I even got close enough to decipher the voices. Hesitantly I knocked on the door, causing them to pause their shouting.

'Not now, Elena' Jeremy responded, anger still evident in his tone.

I pushed the door open anyway, and saw that he was stood with his back to me, Bonnie being blocked from my view by his body. He sighed in annoyance and turned around.

'Elena, what do you-,' he trailed off and his expression changed from frustration to shock.

'Hi Jer.' I said giving him an unsure smile.

'Kimmie?' He whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

'It's me.' I smiled, stepping further into the room.

Before I'd come to a full stop he rushed towards me and enveloped me into his embrace. I smiled through my tears as we held each other. I'd missed my family so much and I was grateful to be back.


	2. The Last Dance

Chapter Two

'Kim!' A voice shouted from the other side of my door, I groaned, reaching over and pulling a pillow over my head. The shouting stopped, thinking I'd been victorious I smiled and snuggled further into my pillow, fully intending to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, it was never that easy, which I realised when my door suddenly opened and someone jumped right on top of me without notice.

'Ughhhhhhh' I groaned making the figure on top of me laugh hysterically, 'what are you doing I was sleeping!' I muttered angrily.

'You need to get up. Busy day- I have to catch you up on yesterday and then I have to go over to the Salvatore boarding house before school.' She said rolling over to the other side of me and yanking the pillow off the top of my head.

'Fine' I sighed, pushing the covers off me and going into the bathroom to shower.

'You have fifteen minutes, Kimmie' Elena shouted after me.

'Yeah yeah' I replied.

Once I'd showered, I brushed my teeth and made my way out of the bathroom wearing a towel. My hair was already in a dry bun, seeing as I hadn't had to wash it, so it took me no time at all to dry my body. I picked out a pair of white cotton panties, deciding to go braless seeing as I wanted to wear a thin-strapped royal blue vest top and I preferred how it looked without a bra. Luckily I'd been blessed with D cup breasts that were also fairly perky, so I should be able to get away with it. I walked over to my closet looking between black high waisted jeans and high waisted short shorts that made my legs look longer than they actually were. I looked out the window and saw nothing but blue skies, making me opt for the shorts. I pulled on my grey suede jacket and royal blue high top converse. I released my honey blonde hair from the bun I'd put it in for the shower and let it tumble over my shoulders, I ran my fingers through it, trying to separate some of my natural curls and nodded when I was satisfied with how it looked. I didn't bother with any make up- I didn't like to wear it and I didn't have time to put any on anyway. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and slid it into my right back pocket and I was finally able to make my way down stairs.

'Morning!' Elena exclaimed when she saw me, a huge grin on her face that grew when I didn't answer her. She knew I hated mornings and I wasn't very sociable until I'd had at least two cups of coffee. As I made my way over to the coffee machine I noticed there was already a full cup in a travel mug beside it. I turned around, quirking my eyebrow in question as I reached for a mug.

'You have time for one cup here, that ones for the road. I know you need at least two.' She replied, not missing a beat making me smile. It was nice to see that even after two years apart she could still read me as well as I could read her.

I finished my first cup while Elena told me everything that happened yesterday, which basically consisted of her talking for twenty minutes straight and me contributing a nod here and there. She didn't mind, she knew me well enough to know that I wasn't awake enough to vocally contribute to conversation. As soon as I'd swallowed my last gulp of coffee, Elena was ushering me out the door offering me the travel mug and grabbing her Hermione bag and locking it behind us. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see Jeremy but I knew he'd still be sleeping; we were up at an ungodly hour for some freaking reason. The journey was made in comfortable silence with the occasional sound of me gulping down my coffee; I'd just swallowed my last mouthful when we pulled up at the boarding house.

'Hot damn! This place is freaking huge!' I exclaimed.

'It always amazes me that as soon as you've taken your last mouthful of coffee you suddenly gain the ability to speak' Elena replied with a shake of her head as she climbed out of the car, I followed after her bouncing to her side and throwing my arm over her shoulders.

'You think you'd be used to it by now I mean you've only known me your whole life,' I said, my tone teasing as I squeezed her giving her a side hug.

She just shook her head at me, apparently not interested in providing further conversation. We made it to the door and as Elena raised her hand to knock I just twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, without a second thought I walked over the threshold pulling Elena with me and closing the door behind me.

'Kim!' Elena exclaimed, 'what are you doing? You can't just walk into someone's house whenever you feel like it! Especially seeing as one out of the two people who live here haven't even met you yet!' She grabbed my elbow and yanked me back as I went to make my way further into the house; I turned to her a mask of innocence on my face that I knew she wouldn't buy for a second.

'Come on, Elena we're not vampires we don't need to wait for an invitation and besides the door was open.' She opened her mouth to respond but I cut her off before she could, 'and if me meeting Damon is such a big concern then fine!' I said, turning around to face the hall way that led to the rest of the house, I stepped forward and brought my hands to my mouth as if to amplify my voice, even though they would have heard me if I spoke at normal volume, 'DAMON! DAMON! DAM-,' I was suddenly cut off by a hand going over my mouth, it came from behind me but I knew it wasn't Elena. I turned around removing the hand from my mouth in the process and came face to face with a tall raven-haired man with piercing blue eyes. I realised how close we were and took a step back, taking in his clothing, which reminded me of Jeremy's gothic phase- black shirt black jeans and black boots. But somehow he pulled it off without looking like a teenager going through a rebellious phase.

'Kim Gilbert, Elena and Jeremy's big sister' I said, holding out my hand. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took me in, his gaze working its way down my body lingering on my legs and then my chest, making me roll my eyes- typical male.

'Hello? Earth to Damon! Last I checked my eyes were not on my chest.' I said waving my hand back and forth in front of his face, without warning he grabbed my wrist, not painfully but he did grip it firmly. He moved his hand from my wrist so that he was gripping my hand in a handshake.

'Damon Salvatore, nice to meet you' he said, his tone suggestive with what I assumed was his signature smirk on his face, I pulled my hand away from his and for a moment I thought I saw a flicker of surprise on his face as if he couldn't believe I would pull my hand away from his.

'Well, Damon I wish I could say the same. Let's hope your second impression is better than your first' I replied crossing my arms over my chest.

Elena laughed from behind Damon, but I could hear the surprise behind it as well, which confused me- I mean I could see he was attractive but why the heck was everyone expecting me to be victim of his charm? Honestly I found him attractive but I don't think I could ever see him as anything more than a potential friend. Which in all honesty was my life story, I could notice a guy's attractiveness just fine but I had yet to find a guy _I_ found attractive, if that makes any sense. Which was exactly why in my whole twenty years on this Earth I'd never been in a relationship and I'd never been intimate with a man. This shocked most people whenever I told them and some would even go as far as to call me a liar, which is why I started keeping that slither of information to myself, not because I was lying but because I was sick of being told I was. It was bad enough that I felt like a freak, I didn't need strangers or even friends making me feel like one too.

'Sorry Damon but looks like you don't have a chance. You owe me twenty bucks' Stefan said as he made his way to the hallway just opposite of the front door, I turned and met Stefan's amused gaze with one of my own.

'Stefan!' I mock exclaimed, 'I thought that a gentleman such as yourself would be above gambling!' My tone was full of fake shock, which I overplayed by holding my hand to my heart.

Stefan just laughed in response giving me a slight shrug and laughing even harder as I punched his arm as he made his was past me to get to Elena.

'Hey come on Stef, I still have time!' Damon said, 'women cannot resist this face for too long' He smirked looking in my direction and chuckling when he saw my disgusted expression.

'Okay, if I'm gonna have to be around you a lot while we deal with this Klaus guy you're gonna need to dial down the arrogance Fabio.' I said as I sat down on the plush couch next to Elena.

'Noted' Damon replied with a wink, prompting me to roll my eyes. I shook my head in annoyance but other than that refused to give him any kind of reaction.

'So what are we doing here anyway? You only said you needed to come here before school.' I said looking over to my sister as I twisted my body and threw my feet across her and Stefan's laps.

'I have to sign some legal document thing so that the house is signed over to me.' Elena responded, resting her hands over my legs on her lap; she was used to my antics and knew that pushing me off would only lead to me putting them on over and over until she eventually gave in. Stefan didn't seem to mind my feet being on his lap either and I was pleasantly surprised with how comfortable I was around him already, I could definitely see us becoming good friends. Damon on the other hand was anyone's guess; right now I was leading towards frenemies.

'Ah I get it, a place where you control what vampires get invited in- clever' I said tapping my temple as if I was a genius to have figured it out, 'I take it that was your idea Stefan?' I asked leaning my body to the right a little so I could meet Stefan's gaze giving him a wink.

Elena and Stefan laughed and I ignored the glare Damon sent my way.

'Actually Isobel gave us the idea yesterday when she mentioned having put the lease of a house in my name.' Elena said once her giggles had subsided.

I nodded in acknowledgement shuffling further down on the sofa so that my head rested on the arm of the sofa and the lower half of my body was pushed further into Stefan and Elena's laps.

'Good God this sofa is comfy' I muttered trying to keep my eyes open, I may have had my coffee but it was still far too early to function.

'Oi Princess don't fall asleep!' Damon exclaimed from the sofa opposite the one I was on.

'I'm not' I replied, my eyes now completely closed, 'and I'm definitely _not_ fond of Princess, asshole' I added turning so that I was on my side facing the back of the sofa.

I heard Elena softly laugh as I snuggled further into the sofa and I heard Damon sigh in annoyance. Before I knew it I was consumed in darkness.

'Princess! WAKE UP!' Someone screeched right in my earhole making me jump about a foot while bringing my hand to my ear trying to make the ringing subside.

'Ow!' I moaned sitting up on the sofa glaring at Damon, 'asshole' I muttered ignoring his amused laughter. It was then I noticed that there was no one else in the room. What the heck?

'Where is everyone?' I asked, completely confused, I was pretty sure I was practically lying on Elena and Stefan as we waited for Bonnie and Mr Henry to come over to sign the house over to Elena.

'They left hours ago; you're quite the heavy sleeper. You didn't even stir when I lifted you so that Stefan and Elena could get out from underneath you. By they way it's cute that you cuddle in your sleep.' Damon said giving me an amused smile.

'What are you talking about?' I asked, my confusion only growing.

'Take a look for yourself.' He replied handing me his black iPhone 4S, I took it and saw a picture of me gripping Elena to me, she was awkwardly lying beside me her back against the back of the couch, her head resting on my chest as I held her head there. Elena looked physically uncomfortable as well as a little amused while Stefan's gaze was one of complete mirth. I laughed at the picture, entertained that even in my sleep I was strong enough to keep Elena in a chokehold. I handed him his phone back as I stood up and stretched.

'Well then I take it the whole signing over thing went all right then?' I asked.

'Yup. Elena is now the official owner of the boarding house.' Damon nodded making his way over to the make shift bar behind the couch I had been sleeping on.

'Wicked. I wonder how much she could get for this place' I muttered, laughing when Damon's eyes narrowed.

'Right well I'm off, see ya later Damon' I said making my way to the door but before I could my phone chimed with a text.

 _Elena; Meet us at the boarding house. Something has just happened at school, it involves Klaus._

 _Me: Okay Lena, see you soon._

I put my phone back into my pocket turning back around to face Damon, he was sipping what I assumed was whiskey as he read something on his phone, I assumed it was the same text I'd just received.

'On second thoughts looks like I'm staying' I said making my way over to him pouring myself a glass of whiskey, I sighed in pleasure at the pleasant burn as the whiskey made its way down my throat.

'You're a whiskey girl I take it' Damon said, looking surprised as he took another sip from his own glass.

'Yup' I responded, swallowing the remaining contents in one then placing the glass back down on the bar, 'that's good stuff' I said, impressed.

'A girl who knows and can take her whiskey after my own heart' he replied a smirk present on his face, making me roll my eyes.

'Listen here, Fabio.' I said, each word seeping with warning, 'stop with those remarks or we are going to have a problem' I could feel my eyes harden, and much like Katherine his eyes glimmered with fear for a second as he took a step back, but as quick as it had happened his smirk was back as if he was trying to hide behind it.

'Aww Princess don't be like that' he said his smirk growing almost as if he was pleased with himself for his defiance.

I sighed and shook my head; they never listened. I waited until he was distracted with taking a drink of his whiskey before I brought my knee up, meeting the most sensitive part between his legs with as much force as I could muster. He collapsed in a heap on the floor, a smirk growing on my face as it disappeared from his.

'I warned you' I said in a teasing singsong voice.

He just groaned in response. At that moment the door to the boarding house swung open revealing Stefan, Elena and Bonnie. I wondered where Ric was briefly before Bonnie pulled me out of my thoughts, her voice amused.

'What happened here?' Bonnie asked, biting her lip as if she were trying not to laugh.

'He was being a pig. In all fairness I gave him a fair warning, it's not my fault he didn't listen.' I said holding my hands up in a defensive gesture, although it looked like I didn't need it- everyone aside from Damon of course, was amused.

'Yeah Damon you definitely owe me that twenty bucks now' Stefan said as his whole body shook with laughter.

We were interrupted by the boarding house door swinging open and someone who looked like Ric walking through the door. I frowned in confusion at my own thoughts, but I couldn't deny the feeling in my gut, it was the same as yesterday with Katherine, I just _knew_ that that wasn't Ric.

'Who the hell are you?' I asked, instinctively standing in front of Bonnie and Elena in a protective gesture.

Ric's eyes met my own and I could see the confusion in them as well as the fact that he didn't seem to recognise me.

'What are you talking about?' Damon asked as he finally managed to join us.

'That's not Ric' I said keeping my answer simple, Damon looked at me like I was crazy but Bonnie and Elena trusted my intuition and Stefan seemed to as well, I assumed because of what happened yesterday.

'Listen, Princess, I don't know what bottle of crazy pills you had this morning but I'm telling you-,' Damon started but Stefan cut him off by putting a hand to his chest.

'Give her a minute Damon.' He said, restraining him as best as he could.

'All right then, if you're really Ric tell me something.' I said as I stepped forward so that we were only a meter apart, I stared into his eyes, my gaze unflinching, 'who am I?' I asked.

Damon snorted from behind me, but otherwise remained silent. Ric's eyes remained on mine and I could see a range of emotions pass through them from confusion to panic, to the end emotion, which was rage.

Without any warning he gripped my arm and twisted me so that my back was against his chest, his arms held onto mine, keeping me there. I didn't bother to struggle, knowing it was pointless, instead I simply sighed and met Damon's eyes and said, 'I told you so.' Causing whoever was in Alaric's body to pull me tighter as if in warning.

'Geesh all right already you don't have to hold me prisoner, lets just talk it out. Maybe we should start with who the hell you are?' I said trying to twist my head to meet his eyes with no success; he was holding me to him too tightly allowing no room for movement.

'Listen, love I could easily snap your neck and be done with it so I suggest you stop talking' his tone was hard and booked no room for argument, but I just couldn't find it in me to be the least bit intimidated. I met Elena's eyes and I saw her pleading with me to listen to him but I opened my mouth to retort anyway.

'Listen, mate you took over our friends body and then had the audacity to try and pose as him. Don't take your temper tantrum out on me because I wasn't stupid enough to believe your little act.' I said resting my body against his, trying to make myself more comfortable, he was pulling me too tight making my muscles stretch painfully, resting against him relieved the pressure a little.

Elena, Damon, Stefan and Bonnie all braced themselves, probably expecting me to be lying in a heap on the floor right now but somehow I just _knew_ that he wasn't going to kill me, meaning my expression was completely relaxed. I could feel the vibrations run through his body as he chuckled.

'Well, love you've got guts I'll give you that.' He said and I swear I could _hear_ the smirk in his voice; I just rolled my eyes in response.

'So…' I started, once again trying to twist my head to meet his gaze, and I once again failed, 'who are you?' I asked although I had a pretty good idea.

'You tell me love.' He said and I could feel his nose sliding along my jaw, inhaling.

'Klaus.' I said; it didn't come out as a question just a statement of the fact. I saw Bonnie, Elena and Stefan's expressions transform into shock but Damon's expression was one of disbelief. Klaus briefly froze, his nose pausing at the bottom of my jaw in what I assumed was surprise before he pulled away and chuckled once again.

'Well, love you are something else aren't you?' He asked curiosity lacing his tone.

I just shrugged not knowing what to say to that, suddenly he turned me around so that I was facing him, he brought me just as close, my whole body pressed against his front.

'Okay, dude if you're gonna be in that body you're gonna need to stay out of my personal space I mean this is the body of my sister's history teacher.' I muttered, as I shuddered at how close we were. I turned my gaze to the side not wanting to look into his eyes because if I did then I couldn't ignore the fact that he was within kissing distance because that was just wrong.

He brought his fingers to my chin forcing me to meet his gaze.

'Right. I'm warning you, you come any closer and I'm gonna be forced to take action.' I said, my tone booking no room for argument.

He chuckled, not the least intimidated, 'is that so love?' He asked, moving half an inch closer to me.

I sighed in frustration, shaking my head, I looked over my shoulder to meet Elena's gaze, 'they never listen' I said as I brought my knee up to Klaus' most sensitive part without moving my gaze away from Elena's. He groaned in pain and collapsed to the floor, much like Damon had, except this time I was much more amused. I quickly moved back over to everyone else, making sure to stand in front of Bonnie and Elena. He soon recovered and in a flash he was standing back on his own two feet, he went to charge at me, anger clear in his gaze, but to my surprise Stefan and Damon stood in front of me. Though I supposed it made sense, if he got past me he would get to Bonnie and Elena.

'So, Klaus you never did say what you were doing here? Is this just a social visit or…?' Damon asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm, making me smile.

Klaus' eyes never wavered from mine; I kept my gaze on his not the least bit intimidated.

'Nothing in particular, thought I'd just pop around and see how my doppelgänger was doing' he said, and as if I knew he was going to do it I stepped in front of Elena before he could meet her gaze. When his eyes found mine again, I raised my brow in warning.

'Right well, the doppelgänger is just dandy, so be on your way now.' I said waving my hands in a shooing motion, which only served to anger him, more.

'Listen, love you may be beautiful and you may have guts but I won't hesitate to rip your heart from your chest.' His tone dripped with venom and I could practically feel the tension from everyone else in the room but I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips.

His expression was still angry but I could see a glimmer of confusion in his gaze.

'You think I'm beautiful?' I asked with a wink.

He shook his head in disbelief.

'Princess, you wanna shut up? Do you have a death wish?' Damon asked, frustration clear in his tone.

'I can handle myself Damon, though you're concern is adorable,' I said, my tone teasing.

I could practically _hear_ him rolling his eyes.

'So are you gonna go or…?' Stefan asked speaking up for the first time.

Klaus' eyes remained on mine for a moment longer before his gaze moved to Stefan's and I could have sworn I saw a flicker of recognition there, Klaus opened his mouth to respond but before he could I cut him off.

'You know Stefan?' I asked a frown of confusion on my face.

I saw surprise on Klaus' face before he hid it; he kept his eyes on Stefan, pretending I'd never spoke.

'For now. But who knows maybe I'll pop by later… or not' he said a smirk appearing on his face.

'Why?' I asked.

'What do you mean why?' He responded, his eyes finding mine once again. I stepped around Stefan and Damon coming face to face with him once more.

'What I mean is you wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble of taking over Alaric's body just to pop by take a look at your doppelgänger to just be on your way again.'

He chuckled, 'you're right love. I came to assess a potential threat.' He said his eyes flickering over to Bonnie.

'Well I can assure you, no potential threats here.' I said stepping closer, hiding my surprise as he took a step back, 'now go away and put Alaric back in his own body.'

'I don't think I will. Why would I do that just to have Bonnie turn around and kill me?' He asked, taking a step closer to me.

Before I could respond Klaus was suddenly thrown out of the open front door. I turned around in surprise to see Bonnie with her hands in front of her a mask of concentration on her face. I walked over to her and placed my hands gently on hers. Her concentration snapped and she met my gaze with surprise as if wondering how I'd suddenly got beside her.

'You shouldn't have done that Bonnie, now he knows how much power you have. He's going to go and find a way to stop you.' I said, worry lacing my tone.

'Don't worry, Kim. I can stop him. I know I can,' I could see the assurance in her gaze but something about the amount of power she would surely need to take down an Original made me a little uneasy.

'Well after that little display, I believe you.' Damon said nodding to Bonnie in agreement before his eyes moved over to mine and narrowed, 'as for you, what the hell was that?' He demanded.

'You're gonna have to be a bit more specific,' I said, pursing my lips.

'How did you know that wasn't Ric?' He asked, pointing his thumb in the direction of the front door that Klaus had just been thrown through.

I shrugged, 'honestly I have no idea, it was just a feeling.' I said my voice genuine; I didn't know how I knew either but I did.

'It was the same thing yesterday with Katherine, just one look at her and you knew she wasn't Elena.' Stefan chimed in, his gaze curious.

'She's always had good instincts though, for as long as I can remember' Elena said from the other side of Bonnie.

'Yeah she has' Bonnie agreed.

I met everyone's eyes and couldn't deny that the curiosity in their gazes was making me uneasy. I brought my hand up to my mouth making a fist as I cleared my throat.

'So, anyway… what's the plan? If he stays in Alaric's body he doesn't need an invitation to get in anywhere.' I said.

'She's right. We're just sitting ducks.' Elena agreed.

'Looks like we're going to that dance after all.' Stefan said, continuing when he was met with confused expressions, 'he's less likely to do anything in public.'

I nodded in agreement, 'wait, does that mean I'm going to have to dress up?' I asked unhappiness seeping into my voice.

Elena and Bonnie laughed at my miserable expression and nodded simultaneously.

'Well, unfortunately with such short notice I'm not going to be able to find a costume,' I shook my head in mock disappointment.

'Ah, ah, ah not so fast. Damon and Stefan have plenty of outfits in storage. I'm sure we can find something for you.' Elena said grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards the deep red-carpeted staircase.

'Nooooooooooooooooooooo' I called out holding my hand out in Stefan and Damon's direction, 'don't let her take meeeeeeeee!'

Typically, they didn't come to my rescue; they just shook their heads in amusement. After two and a half hours of absolute torture, Elena and Bonnie were finally finished with treating me like a freaking Barbie doll; I couldn't help but sigh in relief as I was allowed to stand up from the chair I was forced on over two hours ago. I mean come on, TWO HOURS?

'You look great!' Elena said, as she looked me up and down, her gaze one of approval, Bonnie agreed and I just responded by giving them a thumbs up not trusting myself to not respond with a snide comment, which I knew would be unfair with how long they'd spent getting me ready. I was wearing a black dress that was fitted all the way down to my waist; the bodice glittered with flowered shaped black beads while the rest of the dress puffed out below my waist, coming to a rest half way down my thighs. I was wearing plain black flats, which I had to put my foot down to get; Elena and Bonnie wanted me to wear five inch heels but I reminded them that me and heels did not create a pleasant reaction. My hair was pinned to one side leaving the left side of my neck on display; my hair had been curled to add more volume to the curls that were already present. My make up was light- I had on blush, highlighter, mascara with some fake lashes and some deep red lipstick. I had to admit, I did look pretty good, almost as if I'd stepped out of a sixties silent movie. It wasn't much longer before Bonnie and Elena were also finished getting ready; Elena was wearing a purple dress with white boots a white-circled belt and some purple love heart earrings. Bonnie was wearing a dress that consisted of different shades of orange and red, paired with red boots with a black circular cut out belt. We all looked great if I said so myself.

We arrived to the dance after a fifteen minute car journey- I had come with Damon in his car not wanting to squeeze in the back of Stefan's car with Bonnie. It was a hot car, but there wasn't really any room. Stefan, Elena and Bonnie made it before us and we walked up to them standing by the punch bowl. I glanced around spotting Klaus standing on the opposite side of the gym near Jeremy, not giving it a second thought I made my way over to him while the rest of the group started talking. I kept my gaze locked on his on the way over, but I also knew he hadn't noticed me yet so when I was close enough for him to hear me I wasted no time in making myself known.

'Aren't you a thousand years too old to be at a high school dance?' I asked making sure I was standing on the side of him that was closest to Jeremy.

He met my gaze as soon as he heard my voice but took his time responding, his gaze travelling over and lingering on my body. I sighed in frustration and rolled my eyes clicking my fingers in front of his face.

'Well don't you look ravishing?' He said completely ignoring my question.

'I should bloody well hope so with how long I was forced to sit still while they got me ready.' I muttered under my breath but of course he heard me.

He chuckled stepping closer to me, 'you know love, it's been a long time since a woman has managed to capture my interest,' he said coming to a stop about an inch away from me.

'Well aren't I lucky?' I muttered sarcastically.

'You have no idea.' He said, his voice barely above a whisper. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to retort but my mouth snapped shut as I was pulled backwards rather harshly.

I glared over my shoulder to see who the hell was pulling me back and saw someone I didn't recognise. He was a tall, well built man with dark closely shaven hair and brown eyes. I could tell by the confusion in his eyes that he didn't know what he was doing. He had been compelled and I looked over to Klaus about to ask him why he was being such an arsehole when the man placed his other hand on my other arm, gripping hard enough that I knew he was going to leave a bruise. I refused to show any pain and instead grabbed his arm and twisted, trapping his arm behind his back as I pushed him away with enough force that he landed flat on his face. I looked over to Klaus and saw he looked impressed and amused. I could feel the wheels turning in my head as I tried to figure out what he was up to. Why compel someone to attack me? Unless it was a distraction? As that thought popped into my head I looked over to where I'd left the rest of the group, but none of them were looking this way, thankfully. I gritted my teeth as the man got back up off the floor and grabbed my waist pulling me to him, his other hand forcefully yanking my jaw in his direction, making his intentions clear as his lips moved towards mine, before he made contact though I brought my knee up in between his legs. I couldn't help but feel as if this particular move was becoming my signature move with that being the third time I'd done it that day. He fell to the floor groaning in pain, but unfortunately at the very moment his cries of pain left his lips the gym was quiet as the songs changed over, meaning that everyone looked in our direction trying to find the source of the sound, including my group. I held my hands up in a defensive gesture as if to say 'it wasn't me' which, in all fairness probably made me look even guiltier. Damon and Stefan's gazes hardened as the man got back off the floor _again_ and charged towards me, I thought about moving to the side at the last second but I didn't want whoever was behind me to get hurt because of me. Instead I closed my eyes and braced for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes to see Damon standing over the guy on the floor, making sure he was unconscious while Stefan gently placed his arms on mine.

'Are you ok?' He asked his eyes checking me over and hardening as he noticed the bruises forming on my arms and along my jaw. I was sure there was one on my waist as well, but I wasn't going to mention that.

'I'm fine' I said glancing over in the direction that Bonnie and Elena were in just a moment ago only to see that they weren't there.

'Stefan. This was a distraction. He's got Bonnie and Elena!' I said, already making my way to the door that led to the hallways. I felt Stefan and Damon behind me as I was trying to squelch the ball of panic that was growing in my gut. I had a bad feeling, and it wasn't Elena I was worried about, but Bonnie. I turned to the brothers behind me.

'Is your supernatural hearing picking anything up?' I asked glancing around me as if Klaus was just gonna pop out with his hands up in surrender.

They both focused their hearing and their heads snapped to the right simultaneously, not needing any more encouragement, I took off in a run in that direction.

'Someone needs to make sure Jeremy stays safe.' I shouted out behind me, knowing one of them would hear me. As I made it to the end of the hall I could hear Klaus taunting them both. I turned to Damon putting my index finger to my lips, indicating for him to stay hidden, he looked at me as if I was crazy and moved to step forward, but I met his gaze again my eyes more pleading and insistent. Reluctantly, he stayed put.

'Just relax, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight.' He looked over to Bonnie, 'but you are' he said charging towards her, she shoved him away into the wall but he just laughed and got back up.

'Now, did I mention that I knew a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that.' Klaus said, his voice taunting.

I came to a skidding stop in front of Bonnie, blocking her from Klaus' gaze.

'Don't Bonnie. That's exactly what he wants you to do. It's going to take all your power to put him down and even then it might not work. He wants you to over do it so that it kills you.' I said, glaring in Klaus' direction.

'How do you know about that?' Bonnie asked, shock clear in her voice.

'It took some time but I put the pieces together, I mean it makes sense if you think about it, channelling a hundred dead witches through one person is bound to take its toll.'

'As intriguing as you are, love you're starting to ruin all of my plans' Klaus muttered, anger seeping from his tone.

'Sorry not sorry' I responded, slowly edging my way back moving Bonnie and Elena back with me.

'Not so fast, love' Klaus said just before he flashed forward and grabbed me once again pulling my back against his chest.

'Oh for God sake! What have I told you about personal space?!' I said my voice dripping with annoyance.

He chuckled, leaning down to inhale from my neck before straightening and moving his gaze over to Bonnie and Elena.

'Now your little body guard is out of the way, are you feeling defenceless enough to hit me again?' Klaus asked, his head cocking to the side.

'You idiot. She's not gonna touch you while you're holding me close to you; not all of us have witches protecting our bodies ya know.'

Klaus rolled his eyes and looked down at me a devious smile on his lips, 'oh believe me love, I'm well aware. Do forgive me.' He said, placing a gentle kiss on the side of my jaw before he shoved me backwards towards the lockers; my head hitting the lockers with enough force to knock me out.

I couldn't stop the groan of pain that escaped my lips as I regained consciousness. But I soon shot up once the night's events caught up with my mind and looked around to see that I was in the boarding house on the sofa. I looked to my right and saw Elena sitting in a chair, a blanket wrapped around her as she gazed unseeing into the fireplace beside her. Without thinking I rushed forward, kneeling in front of her placing my hands on top of hers.

'Elena, sweetie what's wrong?' I asked her bringing one of my hands up to gently stroke her hair. She moved her stare from the fire to meet my gaze, I could see the tears shining in her eyes and I prepared myself for whatever she was about to say.

'Bonnie-she's-she's-dead,' she stutters, sobbing as soon as she managed to get the last word out. I frowned in confusion when the words came out of her mouth. I just couldn't believe it. I didn't know how but I knew Bonnie wasn't dead.

'Elena… are you sure I mean I have a feeling that-,' I broke off as Elena looked up from her lap to meet my gaze, hope shining in her eyes.

'Really? You don't think she's dead?'

I shook my head, because I didn't. I reached forward and pulled Elena into my arms, her head resting against my chest as she cried in relief. I stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth trying to comfort her as best as I could.

'Hey you both look like you're doing better.' Stefan said placing two steaming mugs down on the table.

'I will be when this headache goes away ' I replied with a small smile, pulling away from Elena and handing her one of the steaming mugs from the table. I stood up and apparently did it too fast because I stumbled, almost falling to the floor. My head seemed to get worse and I cried out rubbing my temples as I tried to relieve the pressure.

'Kim?' Elena said, alarmed. I could hear the panic in her voice and I wanted to reassure her but in that moment I couldn't because my head was hurting too much.

'Here' Stefan said biting into his wrist and offering it to me, I didn't hesitate, bringing it to my mouth as I gulped down his blood until the pain stopped. I pulled away, wiping the blood from my mouth; I looked up to Stefan and gave him a grateful smile before moving over to Elena and giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Not long after that Damon returned home and confirmed what I'd felt. Bonnie was okay. Elena released a sigh of relief, practically collapsing against my side. I suggested that she should try calling her, knowing that her mind wouldn't be completely settled until she heard her voice for herself. She went off to do just that leaving me sat on the couch. Damon went to his room and Stefan went to bed. I don't know how long I sat there just staring into the fire but my head snapped to the side as I saw Elena quietly making her way down the staircase, continuing down the corridor.

I decided to follow her, because lets face it, trying to sneak around in a house where two vampires resigned was enough to raise suspicion. I followed her as she made her way down some steps, leading to the basement; she opened one of the doors and hesitantly stepped inside. I followed and came to the door she'd just walked through to see her pulling a dagger out of an attractive man with dark brown hair, wearing a suit that looked like it had been burned. His skin was grey and veiny but I knew without that he would be one handsome devil.

'What the hell are you doing?' I asked Elena, making her jump about a foot in the air as she turned around to face me, giving me a sheepish smile.

'After what happened tonight, I'm not risking Bonnie dying for me again, and I think that Elijah will have a solution, so I'm just gonna wait for him to wake up.' She explained, making herself comfortable as sat on the floor and leaned against the wall bringing her knees up against her chest.

I nodded and with a sigh I joined her, putting my arm around her waist as she leaned her head against my shoulder, her breathing evening out after a while as she fell asleep. I however refused to remove my gaze away from the un-daggered Original in the middle of the room, as I tried to sort out my feelings over the situation. A part of me felt like I could trust him with _my_ life but the other knew I couldn't trust him with _Elena's_. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out what that meant. But what I did know was that I wasn't going to get any answers until Elijah was alive again. With a sigh, I leaned my head against Elena's preparing myself for what was sure to be a long night.

 **There's another chapter for you! I hope you enjoy it! I have proofread it but if you notice any mistakes please let me know** **A huge thank you to Charmed2100, GeographicallyDisplaced and Shatteredxo for following my story! I look forward to writing more for you and I hope you look forward to reading them** **Let me know what you think of Kimberly, and if there are any particular scenes you'd like her to have with any characters, I'll take it into consideration ;)**

 **Xoxo**

 **-VampireGirl1797**


	3. Klaus

Chapter Three

I jumped a mile when the body lying in the middle of the room suddenly jerked up, gasping for air, causing Elena to wake up with a start as well.

'What the-,' She broke off when she saw Elijah struggling to get up; she made her way to his right side while I made my way to his left. Even with us supporting his weight he was still having trouble standing. He looked over in Elena's direction, gasping in shock.

'Katarina!' He exclaimed as he stumbled, almost pulling both of us down with him.

'Whoa, Elijah calm down. That's Elena…' I said holding his gaze as his eyes suddenly snapped to mine.

'Who-,' he started but he broke off again, gasping for air, 'oh my god' he moved as if he was going to fall to the ground, I tightened my grip on his waist pulling him closer to me. 'I can't-I can't breathe! What's happening to me?' He groaned.

I looked over to Elena at a loss as to what was happening- was there a certain way that you had to pull the dagger out? Elena's expression was overcome with realization as she responded, 'you haven't been invited in.'

'Ohhhh, yeah that makes sense, lets get you outside, come on,' I said softly as if I was trying to coax a child to go to bed. He didn't respond vocally but he allowed myself and Elena to drag him out of the cellar towards the front door, his breathing got worse the closer we got to the door and I found myself rushing not liking to see him in pain. I pulled the door open and pushed Elena back inside the house as I led him outside. It was amazing; the second he stepped over the threshold he took a deep breath as if he was tasting air for the first time. I still had my arm around his waist, willing to offer support if he needed it.

'Better?' I asked looking up to his expression, noticing the pain and panic that was present minutes ago had completely faded, his gaze snapped to mine, completely confused before he looked towards the front door and made a move as if to go for Elena, moving away from me as he did so. He came to a sudden stop as he reached the threshold, glaring at Elena.

'Uh-oh looks like someone's bitter over being daggered' I said with a snort, trying to hide my amusement.

Elijah's gaze snapped to mine, his eyes softening for whatever reason as he took me in. In all fairness I probably looked a mess- I was still wearing the dress I'd worn for the decade dance last night, my hair had been released from the pins that were holding it in place and transferred to a low pony tail in an attempt to subdue the curls that had gone haywire overnight because of the amount of product that had been used on them the night before, and I was pretty sure I had dried blood in my hair as well from when Klaus had thrown me into the lockers. Asshole. I was still wearing my flats and I was thankful in that moment that I'd had the hindsight to wash the make up off my face the night before- I dreaded to think what it would have looked like otherwise.

'Who are you?' He asked.

'Kimberly Gilbert, nice to meet you.' I said holding out my right hand for a handshake, he took it without hesitation a slight smile on his face.

'Elijah Mikaelson, the pleasure's all mine,' He responded, a glimmer of respect shining in his eyes, why that was I had no idea. His expression however hardened as he turned back to my sister.

'What happened?' Elijah asked and I could tell he had to force himself to be calm.

Elena didn't respond vocally instead she help her index finger up to her lips, pointed to her ear and then upstairs. I knew what she was trying to say- she didn't want us to wake up Stefan and Damon but I couldn't help but mess with her a little.

'What?' I said far too loudly, sniggering when Elena glared at me, though Elijah looked a little amused.

'Can I trust you?' Elena asked making me snort in amusement before Elena could reply, they both looked at me.

'I'm sorry Elena but you're the one who stabbed him and put him in a slumber. You can't blame him if he doesn't trust you.' I said, my arms held up in a defensive gesture.

Elena's eyes widened as she realised I was right and Elijah's held that respectful glimmer again.

'How about you give him the dagger and we call it quits?' I suggested.

'That sounds acceptable to me.' Elijah agrees looking to Elena expectantly.

Elena nodded and pulled the dagger from her back pocket, handing it over, before she stepped out of the boarding house and pulled the door closed behind her. We all made our way to Elena's car; Elijah sitting in the passenger seat, and me in the seat behind him while Elena drove. Elijah told her to go to the Lockwood mansion and she nodded and headed in that direction without another word. I noticed that Elijah was particularly tense and I took a moment to ponder why and then it hit me.

'Hey Elijah, I don't know personally but I'm assuming that being daggered for months and then waking up provokes a bit of thirst.' I said looking to his expression in an attempt to prove my theory. I noticed his jaw hardened before he forced himself to relax.

'That would be an accurate assumption, yes.' He responded.

'Oh well, by all means' I said offering my wrist to him.

Elena almost swerved off the road and Elijah's head whipped to meet my gaze, his expression completely shocked.

'I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow' he said, though we both knew that was a lie; I just tilted my head to the side in a 'really?' gesture.

'It's fine. You're thirsty and I've got plenty of blood in my body to at least to tide you over. You look a little uncomfortable and I can help.' I said, my voice and offer genuine.

He looked a little apprehensive which made me sigh.

'Look Elijah you can either feed or I'll cut my wrist and wave it in your face.' I said my tone leaving no room for argument, which he noticed. With a sigh he nodded. I leaned forward, my front pressing against his seat as I tried to move far enough forward for him to have access to my wrist. His hands gripped my arm gently, as he slowly brought his mouth down, making his fangs appear before he gently bit into my wrist. It didn't hurt much at all really, I assumed that had something to do with the fact that I was completely relaxed; I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I met Elena's eyes in the rear-view mirror and gave her a reassuring smile to settle her nerves. I remained completely still staring out of the side window not wanting my gaze to influence him in anyway- I'd rather he had as much as he needed than hold back because he thought I was impatiently waiting for him to finish. He only fed from me for a few minutes before he pulled away, wiping his lips with a napkin.

'You sure you've had enough?' I asked, my voice soft.

'Yes. Thank you, Miss Gilbert.' He responded giving me a soft smile.

'No problem.' I said pulling my wrist back, wondering how long it would take for the two circular cuts on my arm to heal. I hadn't been pondering for more than a minute when Elijah's wrist appeared in front of me, a bite mark present as he offered me his blood. I gave him a small smile and took a gulp without hesitation.

'Thank you Mr Mikaelson.' I said as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

'No problem' he replied.

I took a deep breath leaning back in my seat as I gazed out of the window, I was snapped out of my thoughts however when I heard Elena's phone ringing. She went to answer it but I leaned forward and slapped her hand in a scolding manner.

'You're driving Elena' I said aware that my voice sounded like a mother berating her child, 'keep your eyes on the road' I said as I picked up her phone from the console and answered it.

'Hello, Elena's phone, Kim speaking' I said.

'Kim? Where's Elena? What the hell is going on?' Stefan responded from the other side of the phone firing questions at me.

'Whoa, Stefan calm down. One question at a time. Elena's driving and we're currently on a road trip with Elijah' I said my tone joking, which he apparently missed.

'What where the hell is he taking you? I'm on my way' he practically shouted, his tone insistent.

'Stefan, calm your tits' I said ignoring Elena's snort and Elijah's shocked gaze, though his lips did twitch in amusement, 'we've not been kidnapped we came of our own free will. As far as I'm aware, we're making a deal with Elijah to find another way to kill Klaus.'

'What? Elena daggered him, Kim. He can't be trusted.' He said, making me roll my eyes in exasperation.

'See this is the problem around here, Stefan. No body trusts anyone. If you'd just stuck with your deal with Elijah in the first place then we wouldn't be having the problem of wondering if he can be trusted. Elena proved she could be trusted when she removed the dagger and gave it to him.'

I literally had to pull the phone away from my ear at the shouting that ensued when I revealed that we'd given our only defence against the Original vampire to the vampire in question.

'Are you done now?' I asked sarcastically, not in the mood for his tantrum.

'Kim-,' he started about to go off on another rant but I just pulled the phone from my ear and hung up. I put the phone on silent before giving it to Elijah.

'You might love him Elena, but your boyfriend is a right drama queen sometimes,' I muttered, meeting her gaze in the rear view mirror, she gave me a smirk and quirked her eyebrow in amusement.

The rest of our journey was silent and when we reached the house I eagerly jumped out, stretching my muscles- spending the night on the cellar floor had made me all stiff.

'So' I started turning to look at Elijah as he exited the passenger seat, 'what are we doing here?' I asked.

'I need new clothes and I believe we can all talk without fear of the Salvatore brothers coming to start a fight,' He replied to me his tone polite.

I nodded in response, linking my arm with Elena's as we followed him up the steps. He knocked and a friendly smile formed on his face as the door swung open to reveal Carol Lockwood. She returned his smile, until she took in his appearance, her expression then transformed to one of concern.

'Elijah! What are you doing here? What happened?' Carol exclaimed, looking around Elijah and catching sight of Elena and myself 'Kim? When did you get back to town?' She asked, even more confused. I opened my mouth to reply but before I could Elijah cut in.

'I've had a bit of an incident, Carol. I'm hoping you could help.' He said his voice smooth and full of confidence.

Carol's gaze moved back to Elijah's face as she responded, 'well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I-,' She stops talking as Elijah moves forward looking into her eyes.

'It won't take but a minute of your time.' He said, compelling her.

'Of course. Anything you need.' She responded with a smile, stepping aside allowing the three of us to enter the house.

'Thank you.' Elijah said, 'well, first things first. I'm going to need a change of clothing.'

'Well, we can try one of my husband's suits. I haven't boxed them up yet.' Carol replied, moving to the grand staircase.

'Wonderful.' He said, sending a grateful nod in her direction. He waited until she was out of sight before he turned back to us.

'How did you know she's not on vervain?' Elena asked, personally I wanted to know that myself.

''Cause I'm the one who got her off it. Right before you and your friends killed me. Twice. If you'll excuse me. I'll be down in a moment.' He responded, his voice laced with sarcasm, which made me snort at his retreating back as he made his way up the staircase.

'Girl you've got a lot of work to do.' I said shaking my head in amusement.

'Tell me about it.' She replied, moving over to the sitting room to the left of the front door, we sat down, our arms still linked together.

'Do you think he has another way? I mean the only reason you're doing this because you're happy to sacrifice your life instead of Bonnie's, but surely there's some way to do this where you don't have to die, at least not permanently.' I said my tone sounding as if I was stating a fact rather than asking a question; I _knew_ there was another way.

'Honestly, I have no idea.' Elena replied, 'but I do know that no one I care about is dying for me.'

I move my arm that is linked with hers to her waist, hugging her.

'Elena… I can't lose you.' I said, tears forming in my eyes, no matter how hard I tried to keep them at bay I couldn't.

'Hey, listen to me. It's the right to do. It's my blood that breaks the curse and no one should have to die for me.' She said hugging me back and placing a kiss on my forehead.

'If that's what it comes down to then I'll respect your choice, but it doesn't mean I have to like it,' I replied, my tone stubborn causing Elena to laugh softly.

'I don't expect you to, Kimmie,' She murmured, pulling back from me and linking our arms together once again, and that's how we stayed as we waited for Elijah to come back down to us.

It didn't take him long and he wasted no time in addressing matters, the first things he asked about were the whereabouts of the Martian witches and Katherine. Elena told him that the witches were dead and Katherine had been taken by Klaus making me snort in amusement. Elijah and Elena gave me confused glances so I answered.

'Yeah the last thing I said to her was that I hoped Klaus took her and made her suffer for just as long as she'd been running from him for.' I said noticing Elena's surprised gaze, 'hey she'd pissed me off- she was bragging about handing you and the moonstone over to Klaus. Bitch.' I muttered, noticing Elijah's amused gaze.

'Well you're right in that assumption. Death would be too kind after what she did.' Elijah replied, seemingly surprised at my presumption.

Elijah went on to tell us of when he and Klaus met Katherine in England in the year 1492, revealing that Klaus and himself were in fact brothers. Elena gasped in surprise but for whatever reason I just couldn't find it in myself to be surprised, but I was cautious- why was Elijah so quick to offer to kill his own brother?

'Yes. Klaus is my brother.' Elijah said in response to Elena's gasp, I could tell that he was finding her reaction amusing.

'I heard that. I'm still processing.' Elena replied.

'Yes, I'm a little behind on the times, but I believe the term you're searching for is O.M.G.' Elijah said with a straight face pausing to take a sip of his tea. His response caused a startled laugh to escape from my lips.

'Kim!' Elena scolded.

'What? That was funny!' I said pointing in Elijah's direction as if it was his fault for making me laugh, which in a way it was.

'Anyway,' Elena trailed off, trying to get back on topic, 'there's a whole family of Originals?' Elena asked.

'My father was a wealthy landowner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children.' Elijah replied, Elena opened her mouth to ask another question but snapped it shut as I responded first.

'Where are your other five siblings then?' I asked, my gaze looking over his expression as if I trying to work something out, the answer was brewing at the back of my mind but I just couldn't put the pieces together quite yet.

'Daggered and buried at sea' Elijah responded, trying to keep the emotion from his voice. I can tell he believed it to be true but the uncertainty bubbling in my gut disagreed. Still I kept my mouth shut, knowing he wouldn't believe me.

'That's why you want him dead.' I said.

He simply nodded, taking another sip of his tea. I turned to Elena and gave her a look, I could tell she understood; she could see that I didn't believe what Elijah had been told about his family. Her eyebrows rose in surprise and I could tell she believed me, but she didn't say anything; probably coming to the same conclusions I had.

'So your parents were human?' Elena asked, prompting Elijah to tell us about how himself and the rest of his family were the first vampires to ever be created, and it was from them that the rest of the vampire race had been generated. That prompted a little seed of warning in my gut, but I pushed it down not having the time to concentrate on it at that moment. He then led us outside as he continued his story, telling us about the sun and the moon curse, revealing how it was fake and the true curse is in fact placed upon Klaus, keeping his werewolf side dormant. For reasons I couldn't begin to fathom I actually felt a pang of sympathy for Klaus. It didn't seem fair that his mother took away half of who he was just to hide her infidelity. I couldn't even begin to imagine how that must have felt; to have one of the people who's supposed to love you the most in the world completely betray you. I shook my head at my thoughts, trying to focus back in on the conversation only to notice that Elena was on the phone and Elijah was studying me curiously. I gave him a small smile when I met his gaze before I returned my attention to Elena trying to grasp what was going on from one side of the conversation. She abruptly ended the call, turning towards Elijah, her gaze pleading.

'Klaus got to Jenna. We have to go to her. Please, we will come back.' Elena said.

Elijah looked between the both of us as if trying to decide something.

'You can go,' He pointed at Elena, 'your sister will remain with me to assure that you will return,' Elijah stated his tone leaving no room for argument. I squeezed Elena's hand in assurance to let her know it was all right; she hugged me and promised she'd be back as soon as she could.

I turned my gaze back to Elijah's when Elena had disappeared through the house. I noticed he was studying me intently.

'Is everything all right?' I asked him, frowning in confusion.

'When I mentioned the curse placed upon Niklaus, I couldn't help but notice your sympathetic expression.' He said his countenance and the tone of his voice was soft as he moved his arm to gesture towards a bench for us to sit on.

I shrugged, 'I feel bad for him.' I said not bothering to deny it.

'You are not the only one, I too felt bad for him, as you put it for centuries, particularly seeing as I had to bear witness to the original ritual and I was powerless to stop it.' He said as he looked over the bed of roses in front of us, but I knew that he wasn't seeing them; mentally he was somewhere else.

'What changed?' I asked, my voice soft but unsure.

'He took our families lives into his own hands. He broke apart our family, now my anger stands above any sympathy I may have once felt for him.' Elijah responded.

I nodded in understanding, but I couldn't ignore the pain in his eyes, I reached over giving his hand a gentle squeeze, hoping it offered him some comfort.

'I'm sorry that Klaus took your family away from you.' I said before I brought my hand back to my lap. He looked surprised for a moment before he gave me a soft smile.

'Thank you.'

It wasn't long before Elena returned at which point we'd moved back to the sitting room. I met her eyes, my gaze inquiring about Jenna's well being- she gave me a soft but sad gaze in return telling me all that I needed to know. Jenna was okay but she wasn't handling the truth very well. Elijah noticed the look and looked inquisitively between us both.

'You two seem to be very close.' Elijah said, it wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact.

We nodded in conformation anyway.

'I can't imagine a reason as to why you would leave for so long, giving how close you are with your family' Elijah said, his head cocked to the side as he studied me once more.

I sighed in annoyance, 'no offence Elijah but I'm not here to give you my life story.'

Elena elbowed me in the ribs, scolding me for snapping at the Original, but I couldn't help it; he was asking questions that I didn't want to answer. Questions that I _couldn't_ answer. How was I supposed to tell him I left town because my parents died when I hadn't accepted that they were gone?

'You're quite right, Kimberly,' he said nodding in agreement but I could still see the curiosity in his eyes.

'So where did we leave off?' Elena asked, drawing his attention away from me, I squeezed her hand softly in thanks. He noticed but said nothing.

'As I was saying, Klaus is attempting to break the cure on his werewolf side, which will make him a hybrid if he succeeds, making him unstoppable.' He continued looking to us both, making sure we were paying attention.

'So you're saying if he completes the ritual we won't be able to kill him?' Elena asked.

'That's exactly what he's saying' I murmured.

'What about the dagger?' Elena asked.

'When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So you see the conundrum. The dagger does not work.' Elijah stated.

'So then how can it be done?' I asked, impatient.

'There's one way to kill any supernatural species...at the hands of the servants of nature themselves.' Elijah said.

I sighed, 'but we were trying to keep witches out of this,' I moaned leaning forward rubbing my temples with my fingers.

Elena rubbed my back in a comforting gesture as she responded to Elijah, 'but if a witch channeled that much power it would kill them.'

'Yes if she completed the whole process herself, but if she were to make him weak enough to be killed, that is where I would step in.' Elijah said confidently.

I looked up to meet his gaze, knowing before I met his eyes that he was telling the truth.

'What if I told you I know a witch that can channel that much power?' Elena asked, linking her arm through mine.

'Then I would tell you that there's one more thing that you should know. When we originally attempted to break the curse with Katarina, I managed to find a way to spare her life.' Elijah stated, I could see a flash of betrayal glimmer in his eyes before his perfect mask was back in place, making him appear emotionless.

'You found a way to save the doppelgänger?' Elena exclaimed, surprised.

'Yes. But of course you know that Katarina took it upon herself to flee before I could inform her.' He said.

'You cared about her.' I stated, already knowing his answer.

'It's a common mistake, I'm told. And it's one I won't make again.' He murmured his eyes flickering over to Elena.

He abruptly stood and walked out of the house leaving us to trail after him. We got into Elena's car and made our way back to the boarding house, the journey silent which I hated. I needed something to distract me, because my grief was threatening to overwhelm me, and I didn't know how to deal with it. My knee was bopping up and down vigorously and I chewed my bottom lip as hard as I could in an attempt to stifle the sobs that threatened to take over my body.

'Kimberly, are you quite all right?' Elijah asked, I didn't even move my gaze from the window as I nodded in answer, it might have been rude but in that moment I just didn't trust myself to speak.

'Are you sure because I'm pretty certain you're bleeding.' He said and I could feel his gaze boring into the side of my head. I didn't look away from the window, I didn't respond and I didn't remove my teeth from my lip even though Elijah was right; I was now bleeding. It was as if I was trapped in my own mind, I was aware of everything going on around me but I just couldn't snap myself out of my trance. I felt the car stop and heard Elena asking Elijah to drive as she climbed over to me in the back seat. It was like magic; as soon as she placed her hands gently over mine my gaze moved from the window to meet her eyes and my teeth released my lip. I gasped as my teeth let my lip go, I could feel the blood trickling down my chin, and I wondered how swollen my lip was. Elena looked worried and I gave her a reassuring look that she didn't buy for a second.

'Your lip looks bad. It looks like you bit it pretty deep.' She says touching it gently but moving away when I flinched. For the second time that day, Elijah's wrist appeared in front of mine a bite mark present, offering his blood to me once again. Without hesitation I took a gulp, wanting to ease the worry in Elena's eyes.

'Thank you, Elijah' I murmured, a little embarrassed.

'It's quite all right' He assured me.

'I'm fine.' I said, pushing as much persuasion into my tone as I could muster.

'That didn't look fine, Kimmie. What bought that on?' She asked her voice soft.

I looked away from her gaze, knowing that if she saw the grief in my eyes she would know instantly.

'I don't know just lost in my thoughts I guess,' I replied forcing a laugh.

Luckily Elijah stopped the car, indicating that we'd arrived at the boarding house, cutting off her response. I climbed out of the car immediately, making my way towards the front door. I avoided both Elijah and Elena's gazes, not wanting anything to push me even further over the edge. I knew that I had to deal with my parents' death eventually but there was too much going on for me to even consider it.

'You can come in,' Elena said to Elijah as she opened the door of the boarding house, I walked in before Elijah, moving past Elena to make my way further into the house. I was about to rush up the staircase when I heard a bang coming from the library and without another thought I walked in the direction that the noise hade come from.

As I walked around the corner I saw Stefan and Damon standing in the center of the room seeming to be trying to overpower each other, I sighed in frustration running my palm down my face.

'Oi! Pack it in!' I shouted, my eyes narrowing at both of them when they turned to face me, Stefan looked guilty whereas Damon just looked pissed off.

'Is there actually a good reason as to why you two are fighting like children?' I asked my voice seeping with anger.

Neither of them answered, instead they shared a look, their gazes moving to the floor looking like children that were being told off by their mother.

'If you two are having a disagreement, there are better ways to solve it, ways that don't involve your fists.' I said my tone still carrying anger but it softened slightly when I saw that they both looked at least a little bit regretful. I turned to leave only to almost face plant into Elijah's chest; his hands went to my arms to steady me when I stumbled as I took a step back away from him. I noticed Elena looking at Stefan and Damon also angry over their actions. I wondered how long they had been standing there for.

'You invited him in?' Damon asked, I turned and noticed that all regret had disappeared from his gaze as the anger returned.

'Yes. Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal.' Elena stated and I made my way over to her linking my arm through hers to show my support. Both brothers looked to Elena and then to me as if to see if I agreed, I nodded to answer their silent question. All of the fight went from Stefan's expression as he met Elijah's gaze.

'Thank you for offering Elena a new deal, especially after the part we played in your death. I'm sorry for my part in that. I was protecting Elena, I will always protect Elena.' Stefan said, sincerity shining from his tone; Elijah nodded in acceptance.

'I understand.' He said, his eyes moving over to Damon, patiently waiting.

'The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way. And I did.' Elena said, her gaze urging Damon to offer Elijah an apology.

'Is that true?' Damon asks Elijah.

'It is' he responds.

Damon's eyes flicked over to Elena's he seemed to be searching her face for something before his eyes moved over to my expression, I lifted my eyebrows in warning.

'You're trusting him?' Damon asked us.

'We are,' Elena and I said at the same time.

'You can all go to hell' He muttered, knocking into my shoulder as he barged past me. I shook my head in annoyance as I watched his retreating back.

'You know for someone who's supposed to be over a hundred years old he's really good at acting like a five year old' I mumbled, I saw Damon's back stiffen, indicating that he had heard me but other than that he gave no other response.

'Anyway,' I turned back to the rest of the people in the room, 'it's been a long day, I'm going to go to bed.' I said, hugging Elena and giving Elijah and Stefan a little wave as I made my way over to the staircase.

I went to Stefan's room first to borrow a vest top and a pair of shorts from Elena, after getting changed I put the dress on a hanger and hung it off the chair that sat at Stefan's desk, seeing as I didn't actually know where it went. With a sigh I walked down the hallway to the room that Jenna was staying in, deciding to use the adjoining shower before I got into bed; I could practically feel the grime growing on me from wearing the same dress for two days in a row, not to mention the dried blood that was still present in my hair. I took my time in the shower, sighing as the hot water eased some of the tension in my shoulders, and when I got out I felt completely refreshed. I dried my hair as best as I could with a towel, and after drying my body I redressed in the pajamas I'd borrowed from Elena and carefully climbed into bed with Jenna. As soon as I was lying beside her she reached over for me, hugging me close. I kissed her forehead in a comforting gesture and closed my eyes, praying for a dreamless sleep.

 **Another chapter done! I know this one's a little shorter but there was only so much I could write with Kimberly basically spending the whole day with Elijah. I thought about Stefan calling her to ask her to come to see Jenna with her, but then I thought that it would be nicer to see Elijah and Kimberly interact, and to be completely honest I like the friendship they seem to be forming. I also think that in this chapter I'm really solidifying Kimberly's characteristics; she's caring almost to a fault and if there's anything she can do to ease someone's pain, she does it without question. (Which you can see when she lets Elijah feed from her as well as the sympathy she feels for Klaus over the curse his mother placed on him.) Anyway, I hope you like it! Let me know what you think!**

 **Xoxo**

 **-VampireGirl1797**


	4. The Last Day

Chapter Four

As soon as I opened my eyes that morning I knew that was the day that the ritual was going to happen. It was as if someone was pumping anti-freeze through my veins, making my whole body go ice cold. I looked over to Jenna who was still soundly sleeping with her back to me, as carefully as I could, I pulled back the sheets and climbed out of bed, making my way down stairs, still wearing Elena's pyjamas seeing as I still had no clothes of my own to wear. I found Elena, Stefan and Elijah in the sitting room, discussing the sacrifice.

'It's going to happen tonight,' I said, causing three pairs of eyes to look to me in surprise, 'I don't know how I know… but I can just _feel_ it.' I said, looking to Elena as I crossed my arms over my chest, moving my hands up and down the top of my arms, trying to generate some heat.

Elena moved over to me, placing her arm over my shoulder, the other resting on my crossed arms.

'Hey, it's okay. I'm going to be fine.' Elena said, trying to meet my eyes but my gaze was focused on the jar sitting on the table in front of Elijah. As I stared at it a small spark of warmth spread came over me, numbing the cold inside my body. It was only a little, but enough to assure me that whatever in that jar was going to work to save Elena's life.

'Yes you are.' I said, my eyes finally meeting hers, I noticed that her gaze now rested where mine had been moments ago before she turned to me, relief in her eyes.

'Really?' She asked, hopeful.

I nodded, a small smile on my face, but it soon disappeared when I frowned.

'If Elijah's way is going to work then why the hell do I feel like my blood is turning to ice?' I muttered, my gaze on the floor as I tried to align my feelings with my head.

'Tell me, Kimberly,' Elijah started, waiting for me to snap out of my thoughts and meet his gaze, 'have you always had such a strong intuition?' Elijah asked, curiosity gleaming in his dark orbs.

I shrugged before I answered, 'for as long as I can remember,' I said looking over to Elena.

'She's been this way my whole life.' Elena confirmed.

'Well that explains your lack of surprise and your willingness to accept her predictions.' He turned to Stefan, 'what about you?' He asked.

Stefan's gaze flickered over to me before he met Elijah's eyes, 'I've never seen anything like it. The first day she came into town she was able to see that Katherine was posing as Elena instantly, and the same thing happened when Klaus was in Ric's body. He literally just walked through the door and she knew it wasn't him immediately.'

'Fascinating. But that's not all is it? You don't just notice when people aren't themselves, you get certain feelings towards events?'

Elena replied before I could, 'yes she does. Klaus knocked her out at the decade dance, so she didn't see Bonnie die, and when she woke up and I told her she told me that she wasn't dead. Then Damon came home and confirmed it.'

'I may be wrong, Miss Gilbert, but your gifts are almost borderline supernatural,' Elijah stated, not sounding unsure in the slightest.

'What?' I asked, completely shocked. I mean I trusted my instincts just like everyone should, that didn't make me supernatural… did it? My mind and my gut were telling me two completely different things and I didn't know what to believe.

'Whatever I might be, doesn't matter right now.' I said, ignoring Elijah and Stefan's curious gazes as I glanced over to Elena noting the disagreement shining in her brown orbs.

'It does if you have a bad feeling about this ritual tonight.' Elena said.

'Who is he planning on using? He needs a vampire and a werewolf right?' Stefan asked, his inquiry was completely innocent, but suddenly I felt like I had been punched in the gut; I couldn't breathe. I leaned forward putting my hands on my knees, desperately trying to get air in my lungs.

'Kim?' Elena exclaimed, worried.

'That's it. He's going to use someone we know.' I managed to gasp out, the pain in my chest lessening enough to allow me to breathe, but it otherwise remained as a reminder of what was to come.

'We need to get everyone we know over here.' I said, pulling my phone out of my pyjama shorts pocket.

 _Me: Get over to the boarding house NOW. It's an emergency._

I sent the text to Caroline and Tyler without even thinking. I knew Tyler wasn't in town, but I wouldn't be surprised if he lured him back- I didn't know of any other werewolves in Mystic Falls that he could use.

'What are you doing?' Elena asked.

'I texted Caroline and Tyler and told them to get over here.' I said.

'Tyler's out of town…' Elena replied, but she stopped when I cut her off with a look.

'How many werewolves do you know in Mystic Falls?' I asked.

Realisation grew on Elena and Stefan's expressions at the same time as they shared a look of horror. Growing impatient, I took out my phone about to call Caroline when a text suddenly came through.

 _Caroline: Just on my way to the hospital. Tyler's Mom had an accident. I'll come by after._

Dread grew in my gut as soon as I read the message and without another thought, I dialled her number, pressing the phone to my ear.

'Care, you need to get over here now. I'm serious. Don't go to the hospital.' I said as soon as she answered, my tone urgent.

'What? Why?' She asked, her confusion practically hitting me in the face.

'I'll explain as soon as you get here, Care. But please, DO NOT go to the hospital.'

'Okay, I'm leaving now. I'll be there in ten,' she sighed hanging up the phone.

I tried dialling Tyler's number but he didn't answer. I tried again, panic setting in but he answered on the third ring.

'Kim?' He said.

'Tyler! Thank god. Where are you?' I demanded, though a part of me already knew the answer as I made my way to the front door, grabbing Elena's keys out of her jacket that was hanging up on the coat rack.

'The hospital. My Mom had an accident, why what's going on?' He asked, suspicion clouding his tone.

'Listen to me, stay in your Mom's room. I'm on my way over there now. There's something I need to tell you.' I said, hoping he'd notice the urgency in my tone and give in.

'Kim… there's a full moon tonight, I shouldn't even be here I'm cutting it too close-,' he replied, but I could hear the hesitancy in his tone.

'Tyler. Trust me, this is important.' I urged knowing that he would give in.

'Okay but you better make it fast.' He gave in.

'Stay where you are. I'll be there soon.' I hung up the phone about to open the front door when a hand suddenly shot out and kept it shut, my head whipped around to see Elena behind me her hand keeping the door shut. Stefan and Elijah were half a step behind her standing side by side their arms crossed over their chest.

'What do you think you're doing?' Elena demanded.

'I'm going to pick up Tyler from the hospital,' I said looking at her as if she were crazy.

'You can't go alone, if someone is going to take Tyler, what defence are you going to have against them?' Elena said, worried.

'My charm?' I muttered.

'Kim!' Elena said, pissed.

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, 'it has to be me. All of the vampires need to stay under this roof to avoid being kidnapped and used in the sacrifice!' I could hear the panic in my tone and I took a deep breath trying to come down.

'Well then, let me accompany you Kimberly. I assure you, I am much harder to kidnap.' Elijah said, causing Elena and Stefan to look at him shocked, whereas I gave him a grateful smile.

'Thank you.' I turned to Elena, 'tell Caroline everything and make sure that her, Jenna and Damon stay in the house, okay? Klaus can't get in here, they should be safe.'

She nodded and gave me a reassuring look as I pulled the door open, gesturing for Elijah to go first.

'Oh and do me a favour, don't spend anytime alone with Damon today, okay? I have a feeling he might do something stupid when he finds out that the sacrifice is happening today.' I said over my shoulder, as I walked towards the car, not looking back to see their expressions.

I climbed in the drivers seat and quickly clicked in my seatbelt, stomping my foot down on the gas as soon as Elijah had taken his place in the passenger seat. I drove so fast on my journey to the hospital that I even noticed Elijah gripping his seat as if he were uneasy; if the circumstances had been different, I would have laughed. I stopped the car in between two spaces, hastily shoving it in park, before I climbed out and broke out in a run towards the hospital, I got to the reception desk and had to pause for a moment to catch my breath.

'Could you tell me what room Carol Lockwood is in please?' I asked, my voice still somewhat breathless.

'I'm sorry but I can only disclose that information to family-,' She broke off as Elijah compelled her to answer our questions, 'she's in room 304. Go down that corridor, turn right and it's the fourth door on your right.'

I nodded and followed her directions, throwing the door in question open abruptly. It hit the wall with a bang but it wasn't loud enough to wake up Carol Lockwood who was still snoozing on her bed.

'Tyler- must- go-,' I said grabbing his hand and using all of my strength to pull him behind me. I managed to get us halfway to the exit before he pulled me to an abrupt stop; luckily I'd managed to gather my breath, though I was sweating.

'Kim, slow down what the hell is going on?' Tyler asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust as I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand in an un-ladylike manner.

'The sacrifice is happening tonight. I think Klaus made your Mom have an accident to lure you back here so that he could use you in the ritual.' I gave him the cliff notes version.

His eyes widened in alarm, his expression becoming shocked, I used that to my advantage by pulling him the rest of the way. I managed to get him in the back seat of Elena's car, while Elijah got in the passenger and was just about to open the driver's side door when all of a sudden my head felt like it was going to explode. I met Elijah's eyes, my gaze pleading, hoping that he'd understand what I wanted; thankfully he did. In a flash he was in the drivers seat, speeding out of the car park before I'd fallen to the ground in pain. I could feel the darkness threatening to consume me, I fought against it as hard as I could, and I managed to hold on long enough to see a tall man with dark hair chanting as he stood over me. The chanting stopped suddenly, but my mind was too fried and I couldn't hold on any longer.

I groaned at the pain coming from my skull as I regained consciousness. When I remembered what had happened, I shot up looking around frantically. I noticed that I was still in the hospital car park and thankfully there weren't any signs of the man that had attacked me. I assumed that I hadn't been unconscious for long seeing as I didn't have any concerned pedestrians standing over me. With a moan of discomfort, I climbed to my feet, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I quickly dialled Elena, hoping that Elijah hadn't got back with Tyler yet because if he had I knew she'd be worried sick.

'Kim?' Elena asked, I noticed that although her tone was a little concerned, she didn't sound overly panicked.

'Hey, listen I thought I'd give you a heads up. Elijah should be getting back with Tyler soon.' I said, waiting for her response.

'What about you?'

'Well one of Klaus' witches attacked us, but I made Elijah get Tyler away before he could take him.' I stated, as I started to walk in the direction of the boarding house. It was then I noticed that I was still barefoot and wearing Elena's pyjamas from the night before. I wasn't wearing a bra or panties and the shorts I was wearing were quite thin. Wonderful. I ignored the cars honking at me as I walked along the road as I tried to focus on my sister's voice.

'Are you okay?' She said, worry clear in her tone, and it twisted in my gut.

'Yeah I'm absolutely fine, Lena don't worry I'm just walking back now-,' I was cut off as I heard Elena shouting to Tyler.

'Elijah and Tyler just got here. Do you want me to send Elijah after you?' She asked.

'No, it's fine. We already cut it too close earlier. I don't think the witch saw Elijah and we need to keep it that way. Klaus can't know he's here or he'll make the connection that we plan to use him.' I said, flipping off a man hanging out of his car window flicking his tongue in a suggestive gesture.

'Okay that's a good idea but I don't like the thought of you walking for an hour along a deserted road.'

'I'll be fine' I said trying to reassure her.

'Damon and Ric left for the grill a little while ago, that's only a five minute walk from the hospital,' she said making me stop dead in my tracks; I'd already walked five minutes in the opposite direction.

'Why has Damon left the house?' I said; I'd already spun around and started power walking to the grill, trying not to break into a full-blown run. I didn't have a feeling that suggested I should worry, but I wasn't talking any chances.

'He went to drown his sorrows after he spent half an hour ranting about how the elixir wasn't going to work and I refused to take his blood when he asked.'

I sighed and shook my head, 'well he probably would have forced you if you'd been alone with him,' I murmured, 'Damon doesn't like feeling helpless and he trusts vampire blood more than an elixir that he doesn't believe will work. It's understandable I suppose.'

'It is.' Elena agreed, 'I'm just glad you warned me not to be alone with him or God knows what he would have done.'

'You know exactly what he would have done. Have you explained everything to Caroline and Tyler?' I asked as I came to a stop in front of the grill, ignoring everyone's stares; they varied from amused to shocked.

'I told Caroline and I warned Jenna to stay inside at all costs. Stefan is filling in Tyler and telling him that you're okay. He's worried about you,' Elena replied.

'Well I'm fine. I just got to the Grill so I'll talk to you soon. Love you.'

'I love you too Kimmie.'

I hung up the phone and walked inside, I ignored the leering gazes of the daytime drunks and slid into the empty seat to Damon's right after giving Ric, who was sat to Damon's left, a polite nod in greeting.

'I'll have a whiskey,' I said to the bar man, noticing his eyes stayed firmly locked on my breasts while he poured me one. It didn't help that my nipples were probably hard because of the cold, but I didn't say anything, not risking him asking me for ID if he looked at my face; I was only 20 after all.

'So… why are we drinking?' I asked, looking over to Damon whose gaze stayed firmly on his bourbon.

'Oh I don't know how about the fact that Elena is about to die in some creepy sacrifice so that Klaus can become a hybrid.' Damon muttered, lifting his glass up as if to toast before he bought it to his mouth and drank the rest of his bourbon in one gulp.

I shook my head at him as I tutted, 'Elena is going to be fine. Have a little faith.' I said to him my left hand resting on his arm as I squeezed gently trying to offer him some comfort. He looked to me surprised, but I could still read the obvious worry shining in his piercing blue orbs.

'She. Will. Be. Fine' I said enunciating each word, hoping that the sincerity in my gaze would bring him some relief, and it seemed to, the worry lessened slightly before his mask was back up and I was cut off from reading him.

'She better be.' He said, his tone bitter.

'So Ric, how do you like being back in control of your own body?' I asked, leaning forward on the bar to meet his gaze, he responded with a friendly smile and was about to respond when a man with a British accent cut him off. I knew who it was immediately and I groaned slamming my head to the bar in annoyance.

'Lady. Gentlemen. Why so glum?'

It took them a minute but the recognition shone from their faces as they figured it out. Damon turned around on his stool, facing him head on. I hadn't looked in his direction yet, mostly because I didn't want to. The last time I had been in the same room as him he'd smashed my head against some lockers. Rude.

'Klaus I presume,' Damon said.

'In the flesh,' Klaus replied, and I swear I could _hear_ the smirk in his voice. Deciding to stop avoiding the confrontation, I sat up in my stool, dramatically twirling so that I was also facing the same direction.

'Cut to the chase. What do you want?' I demanded annoyance and frustration dripping from my tone, but as soon as I met his eyes my whole body and my expression froze in place. At that point I was glad that my face read as annoyed because if he could actually tell how I was feeling I would have been extremely embarrassed. As soon as my eyes met his I knew I was screwed I could practically feel the electricity zapping between us.

His eyes were a deep blue, like mine, yet his were more enticing, more beautiful and I had to physically force my eyes away from his to take the rest of him in. His hair was a mix of a soft brown and dark blonde, a few curls framing his striking face. His lips were an enticing red, as if they were begging to be kissed, and I found myself counting to three and forcing myself to look away before I put myself in danger of staring at them for too long. His physique was lean giving the impression he wasn't strong, yet the way he carried himself suggested that you would be an idiot to even try and challenge him. I could feel my heart racing and I hated it. I had never been attracted to anyone before and the first time I've found myself unable to look away from a guy it has to be the one who was planning on killing my sister? Well wasn't that just fan-fucking-tastic. With that thought I downed the rest of my whiskey, closing my eyes to savor the pleasant burn in my throat. When I opened them again I noticed that Klaus, Damon and Ric were all staring at me.

I frowned, 'what?'

'Did you not hear what I said, love? Or were you too busy checking me out?' Klaus said, a crooked grin appearing on his face. I tried not to melt at his accent and his hungry gaze as I wrinkled my nose in fake disgust.

'Don't flatter yourself, you're a thousand years old, the only checking you should be experiencing is into a nursing home,' I muttered.

He chuckled but I could see that he was impressed with my comeback.

'So what do you want?' I asked, leaning my elbows back on the bar, trying to look like I didn't have a care in the world.

'I just wanted to make sure you were okay after your little run in with my witch earlier,' He said his tone once again amused but his eyes were annoyed.

'Ah yes. About that, why are you sending your witches out to attack innocent little humans, I was just walking to my car and BAM,' I shouted for emphasis, actually making Damon jump and spill some of his drink, as well as gaining the attention of a few nearby customers, 'my brain was on _fire._ I must say it was not a pleasant experience.' I said, waving my hand at the bar man, asking for a refill on my whiskey. When I grabbed the glass and turned back Klaus was only an inch away from me.

'Listen, sweetheart you know exactly what you were doing. You took the werewolf I was planning on using in the sacrifice and seeing as I can't find the lovely blonde local vampire I'm assuming you've had something to do with that as well,' He said, all amusement gone from him in an instant, instead his tone seeped with an underlying threat and it pissed me off.

'Oi, I saved the _friends_ you were planning on using in the sacrifice. I get that it has to happen, but that doesn't mean that you need to use people that we care about.' I moved closer to him so that we were only millimeters apart, I could feel my eyes hardening, 'it's bad enough that you have to kill my sister to make yourself into a freaking hybrid. You can get vampires from anywhere, yeah I guess that werewolves are a little harder to come by, but you should have been prepared with that, I mean come on you've had a thousand years to plan for this. You're slacking' I said my finger poking at his chest.

I could practically hear Damon and Ric holding their breath as they waited for his response. But again I couldn't find it in myself to be intimidated, I stared right back into his eyes, raising my eyebrows in a 'what are you gonna do?' gesture, which in all fairness probably was _not_ the best idea when you were essentially challenging one of the oldest vampires on earth.

He grabbed the hand that was still poking his chest and pulled me foreword, so that I was now completely off the stool and standing in front of him, every inch of my body pressed against his. I had to look up to meet his eyes, seeing as he was half a head taller than me and I saw a brief flicker of lust before his eyes flooded with annoyance again. Personally I was having a hard time grabbing onto the anger I had been feeling just a moment ago when I was pressed against him like this- my whole body was tingling in a way that I wasn't familiar with and I didn't know how to make it stop.

'Listen, love luckily for you I still have a werewolf to use with your precious Tyler Lockwood out of the picture, but I'm still short on a vampire.' He inched closer to me, so close that if he spoke again his lips would softly brush against mine.

'You can turn literally anyone into a vampire,' I said after moving back enough so that my lips wouldn't brush against his as I spoke; I didn't trust myself with that kind of temptation, 'you're just going out of your way to be an asshole.' I muttered my eyebrows rising in an accusing manner.

He smirked, and I pretended that didn't make my knees a _little_ bit weak.

'Maybe I should use you,' He murmured his tone pondering, as he leaned down to press his nose to my collarbone. I tried to fight a shiver as he moved up to my throat without breaking contact with my skin. Unfortunately, the action caused goose bumps to breakout over my skin and I wrinkled my nose, hoping he didn't notice. That hope diminished when a smug chuckle left him.

'But then again it would be a shame to waste blood that smells this good,' He murmured so low that I almost didn't hear him, his lips move to my ear and he whispers, 'unless you'd let me have a taste first, love?' That snapped me out of my daze as I brought the glass holding my whiskey to the back of his head with enough force to make it shatter, shards embedding in his skull and my hand, but I refused to acknowledge the pain as he leaned back, his expression completely shocked.

'Did you really expect that to work? You invade my personal space call me love a few times and I'm suddenly expected to tap a vein for you? I don't fucking think so, asshole' I shouted, putting my hands to his chest and shoving him; I must have caught him off guard because he actually stumbled back a few steps.

Damon whistled between his teeth and then chuckled in amusement, I noticed that Ric was also amused, but not making it as known as Damon, probably fearing Klaus' reaction. Which was a good call because I saw that his gaze turned murderous as he made a move to charge for me, but to my surprise Damon stood in front of me protectively.

'Nothing to see here. Don't you have places to be? People to sacrifice?' Damon said, sarcasm _dripping_ from his tone.

I moved from behind Damon, my arms crossed over my chest as I rose by brow in question.

Klaus' eyes met mine and I could see the hunger back in his eyes as his gaze moved down to my hand and realization hit me like a truck; my hand was bleeding from the glass and I assumed that was more tempting than being able to smell it from underneath my skin.

'You need to leave, I'm sure you're on a tight schedule,' I mumbled, warning lacing my tone.

As if it caused him physical pain to do so he moved his eyes back to mine for a moment before his eyes then flickered to Damon and Ric, 'just a _friendly_ reminder. Don't try and screw anything up.' He said, moving his gaze to mine once again, 'any more than you already have, anyway.' He muttered giving me a genuine half smile that made my traitorous heart skip a beat. He sent a wink my way before he sauntered out of the door. As soon as he was gone I slumped into my stool, my muscles sagging in relief.

'You're a mess. You're hand still has glass in it, you're bleeding everywhere and are you wearing pajamas?' Damon said, gesturing his arm in my direction as he asked the last question.

'Maybe. I didn't have time to get dressed this morning ok? And as for the glass thing, it's really starting to sting.' I said, holding up my injured hand as if I that would prove it was hurting.

Damon rolled his eyes and sighed, gently taking my injured hand as he began plucking the shards of glass out.

'Ow' I said.

'Stop whining' Damon replied.

'Shit that stings!'

Damon rolled his eyes, 'well if you hadn't decided that smashing a glass over Klaus' head was a good idea then you wouldn't be in this mess.' He reminded me, 'although it was pretty hilarious,' he said almost reluctantly.

'Well he pissed me off, he had it coming,' I replied, trying my hardest to ignore the incessant stinging coming from my palm.

'Are we gonna talk about the sparks that were flying between the two of you?' Ric asked, handing me some napkins to grip until the bleeding stopped.

'Okay you know what- it's not my fault he is hotter holy hell. What is that about? I was expecting him to be some hideous old guy,' I said, my tone accusing as I tried to deflect the attention.

Ric rolled his eyes but otherwise said nothing.

'So you're attracted to the guy who's about to sacrifice your sister? Girl you've got problems,' Damon replied as he stood up.

'Tell me about it.' I muttered, 'are we leaving?' I asked but before he could answer my phone vibrated, I pulled it out seeing it was Elena before I answered it and put it to my ear.

'Hey Lena, what's up?' I asked as I walked with Damon and Ric towards Damon's car.

'Stefan wants to take me out for the day, you know just in case I don't come back,' She started, 'he trusts your instincts of course but he just wants to be sure.'

'And you called me to see if any weird feelings arose over the thought of you leaving the house?' I guessed.

'Well yeah…'

'I don't so you should be fine, just keep me updated okay, and be careful. Klaus still needs a vampire and I wouldn't put it past him to use Stefan.' I said pulling my seatbelt on.

'Okay I will be don't worry,' She replied.

'Take the elixir before you go. It needs to be in your system for a few hours before the sacrifice for it to work.'

'I'm just about to take it.' She assured me, 'see you later Kimmie. I love you.' She murmured through the phone.

'I love you too,' I said before I hung up.

We got back to the boarding house after a quiet fifteen-minute drive. Elena and Stefan were already gone, as was Elijah. Caroline and Tyler were both in the sitting room, looking relaxed on the couch sitting _very_ closely, although I pretended not to notice.

'Hey guys, where's Jenna?' I asked.

'She's upstairs reading I think. What on earth are you wearing?' Caroline asked absolutely horrified.

'Pyjamas,' I answered as if it was the normal attire to wear in public.

Tyler sniggered while Caroline looked even more horrified if that were possible.

'Anyway… I'm gonna go and change. Be back in a few.' I said quickly retreating before Caroline could scold me on my fashion choices. I heard Damon start telling Care and Tyler about what happened at the bar with Klaus as I climbed the steps. I noticed that Ric was just ahead of me and figured that he was going to look for Jenna.

I took my time not having the energy to rush, I of course had to borrow Elena's clothes again and found myself wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a deep purple long sleeved V-neck top. I paired that with her black leather jacket and dark brown boots. Once I was presentable I made my way back down stairs only to be met by an empty living room. What the hell? I pulled out my phone to call Damon but he didn't answer so I texted him instead.

 _Me: Where the hell are you?_

 _Damon: Trying to rescue Klaus' back up werewolf. No werewolf, no ritual._

 _Me: You idiot. You won't find them and even if you do I'd expect that he/she will be well guarded._

 _Damon: So little faith in me._

 _Me: Damon…_

 _Damon: Calm down, it'll be fine. Don't worry._

 _Me: That's just it, I am worried and you should know by now when I get a bad feeling about something it isn't going to end well. Come back._

 _Damon: Too late._

 _Me: Damon!_

 _Me: Damon!_

 _Me: For God sake don't go radio silent now!_

I sighed in annoyance as I ran my palm down my face. He was going to get himself killed I could _feel_ it but what could I do? I had no idea wear he was. I decided to try and focus on something I actually could help with and dialled Caroline's number, praying that she and Tyler were not with Damon although I was pretty sure they weren't.

'Hello?' Caroline said.

'Care? Where the hell are you? What part of don't leave the boarding house did you not get?' I asked completely furious.

'We are in the boarding house,' She replied, amused, 'we're just in the cellar, I'm chaining Tyler up because the moon's going to be rising soon.'

'Oh. Right sorry that completely slipped my mind. Will the cellar be able to hold him?' I asked, pretty calm over the whole thing, the feeling in my gut told be it wouldn't be a problem.

'Yeah, these chains are pretty much brand new and the doors are strong enough to keep a vampire in so a werewolf shouldn't be any trouble. There all done.' She said and I heard a door slamming both down the phone and from below me.

'Just make sure you stay on the other side of the door at all times,' I reminded her as I made my way up the stair case.

'I will Mom,' I could practically _hear_ her rolling her eyes.

'Alright, talk to you later,' I said as I hung up the phone. I reached the room that Jenna had been staying in and gently knocked.

'Come in!' She called out from the other side of the door.

I stepped into the room and gave her a bright smile, this was the first proper time that I'd seen her since I'd come back to town, at least while she was conscious.

'Kim!' She exclaimed jumping into my arms with enough force to make me stumble back a few steps.

'I missed you,' I whispered, trying to keep my tears at bay.

'I missed you too sweetie.' She replied, squeezing me tighter.

I sat with her and Ric for a while as we talked about what had happened while I had been away; it was nice to hear some non-supernatural related gossip for a change. I told her this and she laughed and agreed with me. We talked for an hour before we ran out of things to talk about, when that happened I could feel the anxiety bubbling in my stomach threatening to overpower me so after warning them to steer clear of the cellar because Tyler was down there transforming and reminding them not to leave the house under any circumstances I made my way down stairs. Without even thinking I opened the front door and sat on one of the steps leading up to the house breathing in the cool clear air.

It helped a little; when I was younger my Dad and me would sit in the front yard for hours lying on blankets as we gazed at the night sky. I hadn't done that since he had died and as I gazed up as the stars twinkling in the sky I found myself overwhelmed by the sense of calm that swept over me. I felt a few tears escape when I remembered that I would never be able to do this with my dad again and before I knew it the floodgates had opened. I didn't even try to pull myself together like I would have done if I weren't alone. I never let anyone see me cry, I was always the one who tried to remain strong and calm for everyone else, and every once and a while I would reach my tipping point and let myself have a good cry as I tried to purge myself of all of the emotions I'd pushed down when I was trying to look after everyone else. Right now I was feeling undeniable grief and I could see my Dad's face at the forefront of my mind, triggering even more tears. I cried until I had no tears left, but I wasn't back to normal again completely until the dry sobs eventually subsided as well. I sighed as I rested my head against my knees, hugging my legs to myself attempting to gain some kind of comfort.

I felt empty. I felt like someone had taken away half my heart and all that was left was a gaping hole where it used to be, and it _ached_ to a point of being painful. The piece of my heart that was missing is where my Mom and Dad used to be and I'd never be able to get them back. I was never going to be whole again. I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt my phone vibrating with a text from my back pocket, I wiped my eyes and pulled my phone out.

 _Elena: We're almost home, be about fifteen minutes._

 _Me: Okay, I'll be out front._

 _Elena: See you soon._

I put my phone away and with a sigh I got to my feet and walked to the bottom step, pacing back and forth, trying to ease my nerves as I waited for them to pull up.

'Well hello, love. What's got you all nervous?' I whipped my head in the direction that the voice came from only to see nothing. Was I hallucinating? I mean I knew I thought he was hot but full-blown hallucinations were not normal… right?

I jumped a mile when I felt hands on my waist, my hand went to my heart as if that would some how calm my racing heart beat, but I knew that it wouldn't calm down while he was touching me. I turned around pointing at him accusingly, 'you scared the hell out of me!'

He chuckled, stepping closer his hands once again going to my waist as his forehead rested against mine, I tried to resist I _really_ did but my eyes fluttered closed of their own accord. I felt him place a soft kiss on my jaw and I inhaled sharply at the pleasant jolt that it sent through my body. His mouth went to the crook of my neck and I could _feel_ his lips turn up into a smile, probably amused at my reaction to him. I brought my hands to his chest and I had to physically force myself to _push_ against him rather than pull him closer. But all I ended up doing was push _myself_ away from him, which was fine; as the distance returned I was finally able to think clearly.

I put a distance of ten paces between us before I glared at him, 'I'm pretty sure I've told you about invading my personal space before, Klaus.' I said, trying to sound pissed off but my tone didn't carry any conviction, which he noticed.

He smiled smugly before he replied, 'I didn't see you complaining love.'

'Well then you should pay more attention. I'm complaining right now!' I shouted.

He chuckled, 'that may be so, but you don't mean it. I'd be more than happy to prove it if you like?' He said taking a step forward making me take three back, I held up my hand as if that would be enough to keep him away.

'That won't be necessary thank you.' I said avoiding his gaze; afraid he'd be able to see how much I actually wanted to say the opposite. I was saved from hearing his smug chuckle accompanied by his arrogant smirk as Stefan's car pulled into the drive. My eyes found my sisters and I could see the worry in them. Before they got out of the car I quickly turned to Klaus only to stumble when I noticed he was no less than ten centimetres away from me.

'Let me come,' I said, staring at his chest, not trusting myself not to get distracted if I stared into his eyes.

'Well love now isn't really the time-,'

I frowned in confusion, my eyes unthinkingly snapping to his, 'what the hell are you-' I cut off when I saw him raise a suggestive brow, 'that is not what I meant.' I said, trying to ignore the fact that I could feel my cheeks reddening, 'I meant let me come to the ritual. Let me stay with Elena until she has to… die. Please. I have no intentions of stopping it before you start accusing me. Just let me stay with her.' I said, staring him straight in the eyes so that he could see that I was in fact being honest about not interfering.

He stared at me for a moment longer and I refused to break eye contact, even when I felt Stefan and Elena standing behind me. I needed to be with her, to try and keep her as calm as possible. I couldn't bear the thought of Elena being scared; I had to try and do _something._

'As you wish, love.' Klaus finally said, 'but I don't do anything without getting something in return and I will cash in my debt later,' He smirked, and I felt my stomach churn as I imagined what it could be, but I squashed it down. Elena needed me right now. I simply nodded to Klaus to let him know I agreed to the terms, and then I turned around to see Elena and Stefan finishing their goodbyes. I turned away to give them some privacy but that didn't stop me from hearing what they were saying.

'I love you,' Elena said.

'I love you,' Stefan replied, then I heard what I assumed was them kissing. I tried to ignore the emotion in their voices; I could hear how much they cared for each other and it was heart breaking to hear them saying goodbye. Even though I _knew_ Elena was going to be okay, I had to fight the emotions that rose within me as I too thought about actually losing her. I took a deep breath and forced it down. I'd cried enough tonight, and Elena needed me right now.

'You ready, my dear?' Klaus asked.

Stefan moved in front of Elena as if to protect her.

'I wouldn't. No reason for you to die, too.' Klaus said, his tone laced with warning, I thought about stepping in, but I knew it would be useless; Elena was the only one that could talk him down.

'No. Stefan, hey, hey, it's fine, it's fine. I'll go. No one needs to get hurt. There's no reason for you to get hurt.' Elena said her hands going to Stefan's face as she tried to make him meet her gaze, when he did he saw the pleading in her eyes and stepped to the side, allowing Elena to pass. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to my side wrapping my arm around her waist. Elena moved to hug me, her face going to the crook of my neck as she silently cried. I looked to Stefan and gave him a reassuring smile. It was going to be okay. Suddenly Elena was gently pulled away from me and thrown onto Klaus' back, while I was picked up bridal style. I closed my eyes and pressed my face against Klaus' chest when I felt us moving; I got carsick really easily and I didn't want to risk it. I tried to ignore the fact that Klaus smelled amazing as I took breaths in through my nose for the count of three and out through my mouth for the count of three.

'You can open your eyes now, love.' Klaus said, I did and looked up to see him staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. He gently placed me on the ground before reaching over to help Elena carefully dismount from his back. I took her into my arms immediately, my arm hanging around her waist, hugging her from the side as we walked a few paces behind Klaus. We got to a clearing, well at least I think we did it was hard to tell seeing as it was completely pitch black. After I almost tripped for the third time I couldn't help but complain.

'You know not all of us have supernatural eye sight. I can't see where the hell I am going,' I muttered, knowing he could hear me. I heard him chuckle before the path way was suddenly lit up with flames, illuminating our path.

'I would thank you, but I'm pretty sure you didn't do that.' I said, my tone snarky.

He didn't respond but I somehow knew he was smirking. I hugged Elena tighter to my side as we got to the end of the path. There were three rings of fire. Two were empty while one of them was occupied with what looked like a dead body. It appeared to be a man of average height with blonde hair wearing black jeans, black and white Nike trainers and a plain white T-shirt. I assumed that it was a vampire in transition, and when I didn't feel any dread like I would have if I had known him, I didn't question it. Although my heart squeezed a little knowing that he didn't deserve what was about to happen to him. Klaus gestured to the circle on the far left and Elena and myself walked over to it, stepping inside when the flames momentarily disappeared. I pulled us to the middle before the flames regrew and sat on the floor bringing Elena with me. My legs were splayed out in front of me and Elena sat across them; her feet planted against the ground on one side of my legs while her bottom was on the floor against the other as she laid her head against my chest. I put my arms around her, whispering words of comfort as I gently rocked her back and forth. I couldn't even imagine what she must be feeling right now.

A few moments later the newly turned vampire to our left suddenly sat up gasping for air. He looked in our direction and I gave him a sympathetic smile; I didn't know him but that didn't mean that he deserved this.

'Hi' I said, 'how are you feeling?' I asked my voice soft, not wanting to jostle Elena; somehow she'd managed to fall asleep.

'I feel weird. My throat's on fire and the fire feels hot. Really hot,' He said his tone laced with panic and tears shining in his eyes.

'Well believe it or not your turning into a vampire. You're about to be used in a sacrifice so that guy,' I jutted my chin in Klaus' direction but didn't give him the satisfaction of looking directly at him, 'can become a hybrid; half werewolf half vampire.'

He looked at me as if he was waiting for a punch line but when he saw that my eyes and expression were both completely sincere he looked panicked.

'What's your name?' I asked, my voice still soft.

'J-James,' he said.

'I'm Kim. Now, they're going to feed you some blood in a minute to complete your transition. The good news is that vampires have this neat little trick,' I said trying to keep my voice calm and reassuring, 'they can turn their emotions off. If you do that, you won't be scared and it might make this whole thing a little easier for you.' I gave him a reassuring smile, and I saw him give me a soft smile in return.

He opened his mouth to reply but before he could, the flames suddenly disappeared around him as a dark skinned woman wearing black skinny jeans, black boots and a purple vest top stepped inside holding a knife. I assumed she was Klaus' witch. She brought the knife to her wrist, slicing it along her skin revealing a line of blood. She held it out in James' direction as she crouched beside him.

'Drink' She said. James didn't have to be told twice as he brought his lips to her wrist and eagerly drank. He pulled away with a start and when I saw his face I understood why; his vampire face had come forward a sensation that must have freaked him out due to its unfamiliarity. The witch stepped outside of the circle the flames growing behind her.

'Do you feel it? The urge to turn it off?' I asked, meeting his gaze.

He nodded, afraid and unsure.

'Do it,' I said softly, giving him a comforting smile.

It was incredible to watch the emotions drain from his eyes as he turned off his humanity; the panic and terror that had been present mere moments before were now gone, his eyes completely blank, empty. His eyes moved away from mine as he turned to stare forward towards the alter where Klaus and his witch were standing. I squeezed Elena a little tighter and kissed her forehead, trying to ignore the painful squeezing in my heart. This was my little sister and I was about to watch her die. I bit my lip as I pushed the emotion down. This had to happen, this was Elena's choice and I was going to honour that. I looked up to the sky closing my eyes as I composed myself. Once I had I went to move my eyes back down only to meet Klaus' gaze. His expression was blank, though I had a feeling he was forcing it to appear that way and I found myself wondering what he was really feeling. Was he excited to finally be free of his curse? Anxious to get it done? What? What was he feeling?

I shook my head free of my wandering thoughts as I moved my gaze from his, kissing Elena's hair and rocking her once more. Amazingly, she was still asleep and I wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. I sighed as I prepared myself to watch an innocent werewolf and vampire die, as well as my baby sister.

 **There's another chapter! I really enjoyed writing this one- it was fun to write Kim and Klaus finally meeting. I really like the way they interact with each other and I can't wait to see where it goes the further we go.**

 **I would like to say a huge thank you to: SlytherinGOTvampire and Impalasappplepiegirl for choosing to either favorite of follow my story! I hope you're enjoying it! Let me know what you think, and I'll see you next time with another chapter!**

 **Xoxo**

 **-VampireGirl1797**


	5. The Sun Also Rises

Chapter Five

'It's time, my lovelies,' Klaus said as he stepped forward, coming to a stop in front of the circle that held Elena and me. He had his arms outstretched as if he was about to take a bow.

I frowned in confusion as I looked to the end circle; it was still empty.

'Don't you need a werewolf?' I asked.

He met my eyes as a smile played on his lips, he didn't answer but he did hold his hand out to his right, gesturing in that direction. Not a moment later, the witch that had attacked me in the hospital parking lot came forward pulling a chain behind him, attached to that chain was a woman, groaning in pain. I assumed that someone had cast a spell to slow down her transformation, because she should have been a full wolf by now.

'Ah, Maddox, glad you could finally join the party mate,' Klaus said.

Maddox only nodded in answer as he dropped the flames on the circle beside James before he shoved the werewolf inside, raising the flames once again. She didn't look familiar to me, but I couldn't help but wince every time she groaned out in pain. I wished that there was something I could have done for her, but honestly she didn't look very aware of anything other than her pain in that moment. I gave her a sympathetic glance and a soft smile, which she returned briefly before she fell to her knees screaming again. I held Elena closer, in that moment grateful that she tended to be a heavy sleeper.

Klaus spoke with his female witch at the alter for a moment before she began chanting. Maddox stood with his hands overlapping one another as he faced the circles, his gaze hard. I realised that he was making sure none of us stepped out of line or tried to escape. Klaus made his way forward, in the werewolf's direction, his smile widening as the flames dropped from around her.

Her gaze snapped to mine almost urgently, 'I was trying to help Tyler. Please understand. I was only trying to help Tyler,' She said, confusing me. I had no idea who she was, but she obviously knew my friend.

'I'll tell him,' I said giving her a soft smile, she looked relieved and I was glad her eyes stayed on mine rather than looking in Klaus' direction as he suddenly rushed forward and plunged his hand in her chest, ripping out her heart. It happened so fast that her eyes didn't hint to any flicker of pain or suffering, which I was grateful for, even if I was never going to be able to un-see what just happened. I felt a tear run down my face as I turned my head so that I was once again facing forward, I bit my lip to keep myself from sobbing. They were just innocent people; none of them deserved this.

Klaus walked back to the alter, squeezing the blood from the heart in his hand over a small circular bowl that sat in the centre of the table. The woman placed a circular white stone, which I assumed was the moonstone, into the bowl never ceasing her chanting. Something must have happened because Klaus suddenly asked, 'does that mean it's working?' Klaus asked and I swore I could hear carefully concealed excitement in his voice.

'It's working,' the witch confirmed as she continued.

Klaus smiled as he placed the heart in the bowl and picked up a wooden stake from the ground, making his way to the circle that held the vampire. I looked towards James and was glad to see that his gaze was just as emotionless as it had been for most of the night, and even when the flames that were holding him to the circle disappeared, he slowly stood without an ounce of fear. Klaus smirked and wasted no time in lunging forward and plunging the stake into his chest. He gasped in surprise and fell to his knees, thick veins appearing as his skin turned grey. He pulled his heart from his chest walked back to the witch, placing it in one of the dishes on the table. She chanted and then lifted the container; the heart had liquefied as she tipped the blood into the larger bowl that the moonstone and the werewolf's heart had been placed into. I knew the next step was going to be drinking the blood of the doppelgänger and I had to force down my panic. I looked down to Elena, gently brushing the hair that was covering her face behind her ear. I took a deep breath, controlling my expression so that she wouldn't be able to see my fear.

'Lena? Sweetie you need to wake up,' I said my voice soft as I shook her shoulder gently.

She groaned a little before she opened her eyes, she blinked a few times and for a few beautiful seconds she seemed to have forgotten where she was and what was about to happen. But then reality appeared to hit her like a brick wall, and I watched fear appear in her expression before she hid it; to Klaus she would look indifferent but I could still see the fear in her eyes as plain as day.

'Hey, it's okay. If there's anytime to be afraid it's when your about to be used as a sacrifice,' I said trying to make a joke.

The fear in her eyes seemed to soften slightly as she smiled a small, but genuine smile.

The flames disappeared from around us and Elena stood and offered her hand to me to help me up. I took it and stood, when I was standing though I didn't release my grip, I took her hand and intertwined our fingers. I made sure to contort my body so that if she were to glance my way she wouldn't catch sight of the two dead bodies to our left.

'Ladies…' Klaus said, holding out his arm towards the alter, gesturing for us to walk first.

We did and exactly twelve steps later we were stood opposite the witch as she chanted.

'It's going to be okay,' I whispered squeezing her hand in comfort. She gave me a shaky smile in response but flinched when she felt Klaus bushing the hair away from the right ride of her neck. I quickly stood in front of her, close enough to assure that I blocked her view of the witch and the alter, 'hey look at me. Just keep looking at me.' I said squeezing the hand I was still holding as I reached forward and grabbed her free hand to do the same. Her eyes stayed on mine, and I made sure that my gaze was as comforting as it could be as I gave her a soft smile. Amazingly, the fear in her eyes disappeared as she stared back at me, I had no idea how but I wasn't going to question it. Her gaze remained calm even as Klaus lent down, his vampire face coming forward, and bit into her neck. Him drinking from her seemed to last forever as I kept my eyes on Elena's, I noticed that she seemed to be struggling to keep them open, so I stepped forward, my body only an inch from hers as I placed my hands on her waist, prepared to catch her when she fell. It was scary how quickly the change happened; one moment she was staring straight into my eyes, giving me a soft smile, and then all of a sudden her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped forward. I tried to hold her up, but I couldn't support all of her weight, so I softly placed her on the ground. I shrugged off my jacket and placed it gently under her head. I _knew_ that she was going to be okay, but in that moment she was _dead_ and I couldn't stop the tears that cascaded down my cheeks as I stared at my little sisters face, willing her to open her eyes. I took her left hand in mine; not taking my eyes off her face, as if me staring for long enough would make the elixir take effect quicker. I knew it wouldn't; Elijah had said that Elena would be dead for at least an hour before she would be resuscitated.

I could feel eyes on me and I reluctantly looked up to see Klaus looking almost _remorseful_ as he observed the tears that wouldn't stop falling from my eyes. He opened his mouth as if he was about to talk but all of a sudden there was a deadening crack. He looked down to his arms in astonishment as he watched his bones breaking.

'It's happening!' He said.

Klaus suddenly fell to his knees clutching his head as he yelled in pain; I looked over my shoulder to see Bonnie walking forward a hand held in front of her as she chanted underneath her breath. I heard a crash coming from in front of me and whipped my head in that direction to see Damon snapping the witch's neck, I opened my mouth to warn him about Maddox but closed it again when my eyes fell to his dead body roughly ten feet away. Damon looked over to me, his expression concerned as he saw the tears on my cheeks. I didn't even bother to wipe them away; someone seeing me cry was normally something I couldn't stand, but in that moment I was numb and I knew I would be until Elena opened her eyes again.

He kneeled down on the other side of Elena, his eyes seeming to ask permission to pick her up, I didn't know why he was asking, but I gave him a reassuring nod anyway. I reluctantly let go of her hand as Damon led her away, he looked back to me, wondering why I wasn't following, but I just shook my head. He turned away without question and took Elena to safety. I looked over to where Klaus was still crouching to the ground, his hands to his head, as he tried to threaten Bonnie in between his yells of pain. The wind whipped around us, blowing the leaves everywhere as well as some of the loose grass and the debris from the carnage caused by the fire that had been holding us. All of a sudden everything stopped. The wind settled and the leaves, grass and debris fell to the ground. Klaus' yells of pain ceased. I walked forward knowing that when he got his bearings he was going to attack Bonnie. I managed to get in front of her just as he charged, he stumbled when he realized it was me and not Bonnie, which was enough of a distraction for Elijah to rush forward and plunge his hand into his chest. Klaus gasped, both from surprise at seeing Elijah and horror when he realized Elijah was holding his hand in his heart. I didn't feel fear for Klaus' life in that moment and I knew that he wasn't going to die. Stefan stood just behind Elijah impatiently waiting for him to end Klaus' life.

'In the name of our family, Niklaus...' Elijah said as he braced himself to pull out the heart he held in his hand.

'I didn't bury them at sea!' Klaus exclaimed, panic and desperation in his voice.

'He's telling the truth,' I mumbled without even thinking causing Elijah and Stefan's heads to whip in my direction, Klaus however, kept his eyes on Elijah's face trying to read his expression. Before I could say anything to the vampire's staring at me, Bonnie moved forward from behind me.

'Elijah! Don't listen to him.' Bonnie shouts her voice both pleading and desperate.

'If you kill me you'll never find them,' Klaus said, 'Elijah. I can take you to them. I give you my word...brother.'

'Do it and I'll take you both out,' Bonnie warned.

'You'll die,' Elijah replied.

'I don't care,' Bonnie muttered.

I shook my head, already knowing what he was going to do.

'I'm sorry,' Elijah apologized and in a flash him and Klaus were gone.

'No!' Stefan and Bonnie shouted in unison.

I was unable to generate any kind of reaction. All I could think about was getting to Elena before she woke up. I patiently waited for Bonnie and Stefan to calm down before I asked to be taken to Elena, I knew I was going to get there before she woke up, but that didn't make me any less anxious. It only took a fifteen-minute drive to get us to the witch burial ground, and as soon as the car came to a stop I threw my car door open and ran into the house. Elena had been laid down on an ancient looking couch in the middle of what was probably the living room, when the house wasn't withered like it currently was. Damon was stood behind the right arm, where her head was, looking down at her, his eyes pleading. Jeremy was stood in the corner as if he needed some distance from the whole situation, but his eyes were firmly rested on Elena. I fell to my knees at her side taking her left hand in my right, and nearly had a heart attack when she shot up gasping for air as soon as I touched her.

'Bloody hell,' I muttered my free hand on chest trying to calm my heart beat as I met Elena's eyes, 'that was very dramatic,' I teased trying to lighten the mood.

She laughed, her eyes filling with tears as she hugged me, I wasn't prepared for the force behind it and I fell backwards taking her down with me. We both laughed, as we pulled apart; I stood up first and offered her a hand to help her up.

'I'm alive,' Elena said her grin lighting up her face.

'You're alive,' I assured her, my own grin mirroring hers.

Elena went around to everyone giving each of them a hug in reassurance; I didn't blame her- Stefan, Damon and Bonnie had seen her _dead_ so it was understandable that they needed physical reassurance. We caught Elena up on everything that happened after she temporarily died, and she looked a little disappointed that Klaus was still alive, but she seemed to understand Elijah saving his brother; he deserved to know where his family was.

'I'm sure Klaus will leave Mystic Falls now that he's gotten what he wanted, but in the mean time, we need to make sure that he doesn't find out that you're still alive,' Damon said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

'That's if Elijah hasn't already told him about the elixir,' Stefan said causing everyone's eyes to flicker over to me, I shook my head in response. The feeling of calm in my gut told me he hadn't told him and he wouldn't.

'Right well… does that mean I'm under house arrest?' Elena joked.

'Yes.' Damon replied, completely serious.

'You guys should stay at the boarding house until we know he's gone. The deed is still in your name and we can protect you there,' Stefan said.

'All of us?' Elena asked, looking to me, Bonnie and Jeremy.

'Nah I think it would be suspicious if I just suddenly moved into the boarding house _after_ the sacrifice. Klaus will figure out something's up. I'll stay at home with Bonnie,' Jeremy said.

Bonnie raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking over to Jeremy.

'I mean- if- if you want to…' Jeremy stuttered, his cheeks turning a little pink.

I leaned over in his direction, 'smooth,' I murmured, sending him a wink.

Damon sniggered and Jeremy glared at me.

''I'd like that.' Bonnie said, smiling over at Jeremy, the way they looked at each other made me feel like I was interrupting on a private moment.

'Okay then you should probably head over to the boarding house so everyone else can see that you're okay,' I said looking to Elena and she nodded.

'I can't believe we've actually all made it out of this alive,' Elena said, happiness radiating from her as she made her way to the door, but as those words left her mouth I suddenly felt dizzy and had to reach out and hold onto the nearest person, who turned out to be Stefan.

'Hey are you alright?' He asked, looking worried.

'I don't know,' I answered honestly looking around at the remaining people in the room; Bonnie was still here and I gave her a reassuring smile when I met her worried gaze before my eyes flickered over to Damon. When I met his eyes I knew. There was something wrong with him. As the realization grew in my eyes, he gave me a look of warning. He didn't want anyone to know, I responded by nodding my head discretely as I released my grip on Stefan's forearm.

'Hey, Damon would you mind taking me back to my house to pack some clothes? If I'm staying at the boarding house until further notice I cant keep borrowing Elena's,' I said forcing a chuckle.

Damon opened his mouth to reply but before he could, Stefan cut in.

'If you're going to do that, we should switch cars. There's no way everyone else is going to fit into my car,' He said holding his keys out to Damon. Damon looked absolutely horrified at the thought of his brother driving his car; I would have laughed if I hadn't been holding my breath waiting for his response. He met my eyes, and he must have seen the warning in them, because with a sigh he pulled his keys from his back pocket and placed them in Stefan's empty hand, taking Stefan's keys from his outstretched hand.

'Be careful with her,' Damon warned, glaring at his brother. This time couldn't suppress my snort of amusement at his obvious protectiveness of his car; Stefan smiled, and he looked like he was trying really hard to stifle his laugh.

'Wow. I didn't know Damon was protective of anything that wasn't Elena,' Bonnie teased.

Damon glared at her, before he moved his eyes back to Stefan, 'I'm serious brother. She better not have a scratch.' He said.

'She?' Bonnie asked, even more amused. Damon just rolled his eyes and sighed grabbing my wrist and pulling me behind him as he made his way towards Stefan's car. We didn't say a word to each other until the car was in park in front of my house.

'What happened?' I asked, looking him over, trying to find evidence of physical injury, but when I didn't see any, my gaze moved back to the side of his face. He was staring straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought, and for a moment I could see how _terrified_ he was before his mask of arrogance was back in place. He turned to face me, smirking.

'Nothing. Don't worry about it,' he said his smirk growing when he finished speaking, but I could tell that it was forced.

'Damon. Tell me what's wrong or I'll call Stefan and tell him that I'm pretty sure you have a high probability of dying in the next few days,' I said, crossing my arms over my chest and raising my eye brow in defiance.

His eyes flickered over my expression as if to determine how serious I was, he must have gathered all he needed, because a moment later he pulled up his jacket sleeve along with his shirt sleeve on his left arm and pushed it towards me for my inspection. The wound was about the size of a dollar coin; it was red and inflamed and it seemed to be _pulsing._ I wrinkled my nose as the sight of it as I gently pulled his shirtsleeve back down followed by his jacket.

'That doesn't look so good,' I told him honestly.

He rolled his eyes at me before responding, 'it's not supposed to, princess. A werewolf bite is poisonous to vampires, so I'm basically dead.' He muttered, looking straight ahead again; I figured it was because he didn't want me to see how he was really feeling. I put my hand on top of his giving him a reassuring smile when his gaze flickered back to mine.

'You're going to be _fine,'_ I said, my voice firm, 'I don't know _how_ but I promise it's going to be fine. Just hang in there.'

I gave his hand a final squeeze in reassurance and I smiled genuinely when I saw a spark of hope in his eyes. It was so nice to see him having hope that I didn't mention the ball of dread growing in my gut when I thought of what would have to happen in order for him to be cured; I had no clue _what_ it could be but I _knew_ it was going to be bad. I climbed out of the car so that Damon wouldn't have a chance to read the worry in my eyes. He waited in the car while I went inside and packed; I ended up filling a small duffel bag with as many clothes as I could carry. I had a feeling that I was going to need it. I packed my black vans, brown ankle boots and white high-topped converse. Clothes wise I packed a few crop tops, a lot of vest tops, my grey and pink suede jackets along with three pairs of black high waisted shorts and four pairs of black high waisted skinny jeans. I also packed my other necessities: panties, bras, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a shaver, my toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and perfume. Happy with everything, I made my way back down stairs, locking the front door behind me; I walked over to Stefan's car and opened the boot. My bag _barely_ went in but as long as it fit I didn't care. I slammed the boot shut and climbed into the passenger seat, giving Damon a nod to let him know that I was ready when he was. He started driving without hesitation, and I decided to try and make conversation to assure that his mind was anywhere but his potential death.

'So… how long have you been in love with my little sister?' I asked, trying to sound casual, but I ended up bursting into laughter at Damon's expression; he looked a mixture of shocked, confused and astounded. Which resulted in his eyes widening at an alarming rate and his mouth hanging open wide enough to catch flies. He quickly gathered his composure and glared at me but otherwise said nothing.

'All right I can take a hint. Touchy subject I get it.' I murmured staring out of the window as I tried to think of another direction to steer the conversation, 'you've been around a long time right?' I started, already knowing that he'd been a vampire since 1864.

He looked over at me apprehensively before he nodded.

'What has been your most favorite and least favorite decade and why?' I asked, resting my chin on my fist as I stared at him patiently waiting for his answer.

He looked at my expression and laughed at my eagerness, he quickly composed himself when he noticed me frown and cleared his throat before answering, 'I'm not playing twenty questions with you, princess.'

I sighed in annoyance, 'why not?'

He didn't answer, but he did give me a look, a look that implied he wasn't one to open up about his past, which I could appreciate.

'Fine,' I said, moving my gaze back to the window, mindlessly counting the trees as they passed by. I'd counted sixty-three by the time we'd reached the boarding house, and as soon as the car was in park I jumped out, eager to be with company who weren't against talking.

I laughed a little when I noticed Damon walking around his blue Camaro, inspecting it closely; he either ignored my amusement or didn't notice as he went to make another circuit around the car. I rolled my eyes and walked into the house, only to see Jeremy, Bonnie, Alaric and Jenna all shrugging on their coats as if they were about to leave.

'Where are you going?' I asked.

'Back to the house. We're gonna stay at the house with Jeremy and Bonnie just to be safe,' Jenna said grabbing her car keys off the table, I glanced over to Jeremy and noticed him rolling his eyes in annoyance, I gave him a wink and he just glared. Younger siblings, eh?

'You're leaving now?' I said, turning back to Jenna.

'Yeah we've all been up all night and everyone's exhausted, if we don't go now we'll be dead on our feet soon.' Jenna explained, it was then that she noticed the sadness in my eyes, I quickly covered it up but it was too late; she'd already seen it. I was looking forward to spending time with her; I hadn't really got the chance to be in her company when we had nothing to worry about other than right now. Of course I was worried about Damon, but for now I was the only one who knew about that.

Jenna stepped forward and hugged me, kissing my temple as she pulled away.

'I'm only going to be a fifteen minute drive away, sweetie, and you can come by whenever you like,' she assured me, squeezing my arm in comfort. I gave her a reassuring smile as I nodded and moved to hug Alaric, Bonnie and Jeremy. I kissed Jeremy loudly on the cheek just to mess with him, and was rewarded with him making a show of wiping his cheek as his face reddened in embarrassment.

When they were gone, I looked around, not seeing or hearing anyone so I decided to go in search of Elena. I found her in Stefan's room fast asleep in his bed. Stefan was sat at his desk writing in his journal when I came in, his eyes snapped to mine immediately and I held my finger up to my lips and gestured for him to join me in the hall.

'What's wrong?' Stefan said when we were far enough away from his room to be able to talk without disturbing Elena.

I opened my mouth to reply but the voice that responded to Stefan's question wasn't my own; it was Damon's.

'I believe she's about to tell you how I got bit by a werewolf yesterday.' He said crossing his arms over his chest as he stood in front of Stefan, trying to appear careless. Stefan didn't look fooled as his face contorted in concern.

'What?' Stefan asked.

'I was bitten by a werewolf,' Damon repeated slowly, rolling up his sleeves to show Stefan like he had with me in the car.

Stefan's concern morphed into full-blown panic when he saw the bite on Damon's arm.

'What are we going to do?' Stefan muttered aloud as he ran his fingers through his hair in aggravation.

'Prepare a eulogy?' Damon replied, causing Stefan and myself to glare at him in response to his _helpful_ remark.

Stefan looked into Damon's eyes, determination gleaming as he said, 'I'm going to get you a cure, Damon. I promise you.'

'We promise you,' I affirmed, standing next to Stefan mirroring his gaze.

Damon looked between the two of us and I noticed a glimmer of vulnerability before his mask was back in place, he nodded, not seeming to trust himself to speak before he turned and walked away. Stefan and myself shared a look of understanding before we parted ways. As I made my way to the guest bedroom I was staying in I could feel the ball of led growing in my gut, and I knew that we were going to get the cure, but I was pretty certain, whatever we would have to do to get it was going to be anything but good.

 **And that concludes chapter five! I'm sorry if you thought this chapter was a little less action filled, but there wasn't really that much I could put in being as this is in Kimberly's P.O.V and she can't be everywhere at once (unfortunately). I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter- I always have fun writing Kimberly and Klaus interactions.**

 **I would like to thank: Shadowednight1, Lloryn, Loveisforever12, Leafpool16985, Pink-appel and Shadow Hermione for either giving my story a favorite or a follow- it means a lot!**

" _ **Guest: I like your fiction, it's a very good start! I can not wait to find out what Kim is and her meeting with the other Mikaelsons"**_ **Thank you! I'm looking forward to exploring Kim's gifts in the commencing chapters, and I can't wait to reveal what she is to you! I've already been thinking about how Kim would get along with the other Mikaelsons as well and I can't wait to explore the different relationships with each sibling!**

" _ **Guest: I love this! I'm excited that's it's set late s2. And your writing is great! There's lots of sister fics but not many that I like. This one has certainly got my attention!"-**_ **Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope you continue to follow the story. After reading a few fan fics where the protagonist was Elena and Jeremy's sister, I found it was rare to find someone who was close with Elena as well as Jeremy, and I wanted to rectify that. There hasn't been much of an opportunity for me to demonstrate Kimberly and Jeremy's bond, but that will come. Either way I hope you enjoy!**


	6. As I Lay Dying

Chapter Six

Elena slept for a solid fourteen hours, not waking up until nine in the morning the next day, when I'd called her to wake her up, at which point so many things had happened. I'd woken up at six in the morning- not by choice, mind you. I loved my sleep and was definitely _not_ a morning person but I just couldn't help but toss and turn during the night, the sense of foreboding growing within me the bigger the knot in my gut got. So when I saw the sun rise I gave up; throwing back the covers, I showered and redressed in some blue jeans and a purple blouse that Jenna had left behind, seeing as I'd forgotten to get my bag out of Stefan's car yesterday. I towel dried my hair as best as I could and left it to hang loosely over my shoulders, knowing it would dry eventually. I also had to go commando in the panties _and_ bra department, which I didn't particularly enjoy, but my discomfort was low on my list of current priorities in that moment.

I walked down the thick-carpeted staircase with a sigh as I tried to swallow a yawn that was attempting to claw its way up my throat. The sense of dread suddenly grew ten fold as I hit the last step and when I heard the sound of someone screaming out in pain, I ran in the direction that it came from without hesitation. I walked into the library to see Damon with his arms spread wide standing in the sunlight as his skin burned. I rushed forward, pushing him as hard as I could to get him into the shadows, which I actually managed to do, I suspected because he was off guard. I closed the drapes and leaned to the ground to pick up his ring, forcing it back onto his finger.

'What in God's name are you doing?' I demanded.

'I'm going to die, I'd rather get it over with now than have to suffer through the hallucinations, unquenchable hunger and fever,' he groaned out as he stepped up off the floor.

'Give us a chance, Damon. There's still hope, and if you kill yourself before you give me and Stefan a chance to help you then this will have all been for nothing.' I shouted, not caring in that moment if anyone else heard me.

'She's right, Damon. We will find you a cure. We promised you.' Stefan said, stepping forward towards his brother. Damon's skin was still burned and it worried me slightly at how long it was taking to heal. Stefan placed his hand on Damon's shoulder, 'we're going to go and see Bonnie. She can contact the ancestors and see if there is a cure.' Stefan said.

'Right a miracle cure. Good luck with that.' Damon replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, but his expression hinted that he was a little bit hopeful; he just didn't want to get his hopes up.

'In the mean time...' Stefan trailed off and in a flash he and Damon had disappeared. I looked around the room as if I was searching for a hint as to where they'd gone, but I had my answer when I heard one of the cellar doors slamming shut from below me. I quickly made my way down the cellar steps joining Stefan as he talked to Damon through the bars.

'Just say your goodbye now, brother. Get it over with,' Damon murmured, his voice worryingly weak. He started to cough, and when he brought back the hand that he'd lifted to his mouth it was covered in blood.

'We'd better hurry,' I said to Stefan trying to hide the worry from my voice, but Damon heard it anyway.

'Princess, it's fine. There's no cure, so just let me die now while I still have my dignity.' He said, looking up to meet my eyes, his tone pleading.

'No,' I replied, my voice firm, 'there _is_ a cure Damon. I _know_ there is and we're going to find it and make sure it gets to you,' I assured him as I walked out of the cellar, not being able to look at him like that anymore. I wished there was something I could do for his pain, but the only thing I could do was find him the cure. With that in mind, I forced down my feelings of worry, determination sweeping over me. I pulled out my phone from my back pocket and texted Bonnie.

 _Me: Stefan and Me are leaving the boarding house now. Be there soon._

 _Bonnie: Ok. I'm just setting up, so I should be ready when you get here._

I walked out of the front door and straight to Stefan's car, not surprised when he flashed to the drivers side a moment later. We got inside and started to drive.

'Stefan I should tell you something.' I said looking over to him, his eyes meeting mine briefly to indicate he was in fact listening, 'I know we are going to get this cure for Damon and I know he's going to be okay…' I trailed off noting the confusion on Stefan's face as he heard the sadness in my voice.

'But I have a bad feeling that this isn't going to end well for you or me.' I met his eyes, 'we're going to have to do something to get it, I don't know what, but whatever it is, it's not going to be good,' I informed him, my voice matter-of-fact. Stefan was quiet for a long moment; he opened his mouth to speak a few times before he closed it again, not being able to form a response.

'I just thought you should know so you have some time to think about it.' I said after he closed his mouth for the third time after not saying anything.

Stefan looked to me; his eyes seemed troubled for a moment before finality took over his expression.

'Whatever I have to do to get this cure, I will do it. I can't- I _won't_ let my brother die.' Stefan said, his voice leaving no impression that he was unsure about his decision. I nodded in acceptance as I turned my head so that I was staring straight forward, out of the window. I saw Stefan's head turn in my direction more than once and I'd heard his jaw snapping shut for the fourth time before I answered the question I knew he was trying to ask.

'I'll do whatever it takes too, Stefan. You don't need to worry about me.' I said giving him a reassuring smile.

Stefan seemed surprised at my statement and asked, 'why?'

I shrugged in response, 'I hate to see anyone in pain let alone someone I know, and if there's anything I can do to stop it then I will.' I said simply, and to me it was that simple. I'd seen the way that Damon was; coughing up blood, taking off his ring in an attempt to kill himself and groaning out in pain- if I could do something to stop that then why wouldn't I?

'Thank you.' Stefan said.

I looked at him and replied with a smile, 'you don't need to thank me, Stefan. Anyone else would do the same thing.'

His eyebrows practically went to his hairline, as he snorted, 'no they wouldn't,' he said, making me frown but I otherwise didn't answer.

We arrived at the burial ground shortly after and found Bonnie already chanting. Not wanting to disturb her, we stood side by side just outside of the circle of candles that Bonnie was currently standing in the centre of.

Bonnie's eyes snapped open but I knew before she opened her mouth to speak, that it wasn't Bonnie we were talking to.

'Why have you come here, Stefan?' The Ghost in Bonnie's body asked.

'Emily,' Stefan said, recognizing her, 'I need your help. I need to know if there's a spell that can heal a werewolf bite.' He pleaded.

Her expression was emotionless as she replied, 'No. Nature ensures a balance to everything.'

'Is that true...or are you just saying no because it's Damon?' I asked, making a move to step forward only to have Stefan pull me back when the fire from the candles suddenly grew in warning.

Her eyes flickered to mine, and for the first time I saw an emotion flicker over her face, just for a moment but it was long enough; for some reason I made her angry.

'Why are you using your powers to help them?' She demanded.

I frowned; Elijah had mentioned that my gifts were supernatural but I hadn't given it any further thought with everything that had been going on.

'Powers?' I asked.

She opened her mouth to respond but then her jaw suddenly snapped shut as if she wasn't allowed to say anymore; her eyes moved back to Stefan, ignoring me completely. I noticed that Stefan looked just as confused as I did when Emily turned back to him suddenly.

'I will not give you what you want.' Emily said, defiant.

'So you're saying that there's an answer to give? Please, if you know something, just tell me. Help me save my brother.' Stefan begged, but I knew that this wasn't where we were going to get the cure; the witches hated vampires and had no reason to help us save one.

Bonnie's body suddenly dropped to the floor as Emily released her, the flames surrounding her blowing out in a sudden gust of wind. I didn't hesitate before stepping over the circle of candles, cradling Bonnie's body to my chest, tightening my hold in comfort when she gasped and her head snapped up to look around. She saw that it was me holding her and immediately looked relieved, her hand squeezing my arm as she exhaled.

'Are you okay?' I asked her, gently stroking her hair.

She nodded at me, smiling reassuringly. Stefan offered us both a hand to help us off the floor, and we took one each.

'They don't want us here. They think I'm abusing their power.' Bonnie said, worry lacing her tone. I squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture before releasing her; she gave me a grateful smile.

'They know something. There's an answer. They just don't want to tell me.' Stefan insisted, seeming lost. I placed my hand on his shoulder, hoping that it would help a little. His worry seemed to disperse slightly and I let my arm fall to my side once again.

'I heard them say a name.' Bonnie admitted reluctantly.

'What was it?' Stefan asked.

'Klaus.' She whispered and the ball of dread in my gut twisted when I heard the name, I looked to Stefan and gave him a small nod. That was where we were going to find our cure.

We left the witches' burial ground shortly after Bonnie gave us the name. I hugged her and thanked her and told her to stay safe before Stefan and I left. We headed towards town, intending to go to Alaric's loft to see if Klaus was still using it, and when I noticed the time I pulled out my phone and dialed Elena's number.

'Hello?' She answered, sounding sleepy.

'Have you only just woken up? It's nine in the morning!' I said, honestly shocked, while I was the late owl and hated waking up before noon, Elena was the complete opposite. She'd happily be up at seven _every_ morning, bright and cheery in a way that made me physically sick.

'Well what can I say? Dying and coming back to life really takes it out of you.' She said her tone teasing.

'Ah ok. I'll let you off this once,' I joked.

'Where are you?' She asked, sounding more awake.

'I'm with Stefan we were just-' I looked over at Stefan, silently asking if we should tell her about Damon; he shook his head no. 'Going to the grill for some breakfast, you know hungry hungry.' I said, cringing at my own voice.

'What's going on, Kimmie?' She said, not buying my story for one second.

'Okay, fine you got me. I'm taking Stefan out on his obligatory get to know my sister's boyfriend meal. Seeing as you were asleep I thought it was the perfect time.' I replied, my voice calmer and much more believable.

'Arghhh,' Elena groaned, I could tell she believed me, 'tell me you're joking. The last boyfriend you took out on one of those dumped me right after!'

'Hey if he wasn't brave enough to carry on dating you after I threatened him then I think it's clear that you were better off without him.' I said.

I could _hear_ her rolling her eyes in annoyance, 'fine whatever. How long will you be?' She asked.

'Ah, don't you worry my dear sister; I already made plans for you to avoid the boredom setting in. You are expected at home at precisely nine thirty this morning.' I lied.

'Nine thirty?' She shouted, 'Kim it's a quarter after!' I could hear banging in the back ground as she rushed around to get ready.

I chuckled, 'well you better get a move on then! Have fun!' I said before I hung up the phone, before I put it away I quickly texted Jenna.

 _Me: Hey, Elena's coming over, she should be there in about half an hour. She thinks your expecting her; play along for your favorite niece?_

 _Jenna: What are you up to?_

 _Me: I'm taking Stefan for his obligatory get to know my sister's boyfriend meal. I need her distracted._

 _Jenna: I'm definitely going to regret this._

 _Me: Probably._

 _Jenna: Ok. I'll do it._

 _Me: You're the best!_

I put my phone away as we pulled up in front of Alaric's loft.

'Get to know your sister's boyfriend meal?' Stefan asked as we got out of the car his expression a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Weird. He must have been hiding his intimidation with humor, understandable I supposed.

'Oh yeah that's a thing.' I winked at him, 'and you will be victim to it when we're not too busy trying to stop people being sacrificed or trying to find a magical cure' I muttered as we made our way up the steps.

'I look forward to it,' Stefan said giving me a genuine smile.

I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest, 'no. You're not supposed to look forward to it, you're supposed to be terrified.' I said looking him up and down, giving him my most intimidating stare, but he just looked like he was trying not to laugh. He must be very good at hiding his fear… interesting.

'Anyway,' Stefan said, 'how much time do we have before Elena get's suspicious?'

'The longest one lasted for three and a half hours. He was relentless, but I eventually scared him away when I told him that Elena was saving herself for marriage,' I answered honestly, causing Stefan to snort _loudly._

'Right so we've got a good amount of time then.' Stefan said after he composed himself.

I nodded, 'do you think Damon will be okay on his own?' I asked.

'Don't worry, I sent Ric over there to keep him company and to make sure he doesn't attempt any sacrificial ploys,' Stefan replied as we stopped in front of Ric's door. I didn't respond, instead I moved forward, twisting the doorknob before throwing it open; it hit the wall with a bang. I looked around the apartment, noticing that the living room and kitchen were open planned. There was a door to my right that I assumed led to the bedroom, as there were no other doors I took it that the bedroom had an en suite.

Katherine stepped in the hallway, coming from the kitchen, a furious expression on her face as we stepped into the apartment. Clearly Klaus was nowhere to be found.

'What the hell is happening? I've been stuck here for _two_ days! Klaus is supposed to be DEAD,' She shouted, completely furious. I didn't even bother to look at her, not trusting myself to not make a snide comment that would piss off the five hundred year old vampire even more.

'We ran into complications.' Stefan answered.

'Complications?' She asked, her anger simmering as confusion took over.

'Doesn't really matter. I just need to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?' He said.

All of a sudden, Katherine reaches forward and slams us both to the wall, her eyes telling us to be quiet. I narrow my eyes in anger at the throbbing coming from the back of my head but otherwise remain silent.

'Klaus. You're back; look who decided to come for a visit,' Katherine said as Klaus and Elijah entered the room. I avoided his gaze, not trusting my heart to not give away my attraction to the room full of people with supernatural hearing.

Katherine released her grip on our throats and I sent her a murderous glare, rubbing where her hand had been, already feeling a bruise starting to form. I nearly lunged for her when she sent me a smug smirk in response, but Stefan grabbed my arm, keeping me in place. Luckily for her. When he didn't move his hand off my arm I turned to him, raising my eyebrows in question.

'I'll let you go when you look a little less murderous.' Stefan said.

'I'm perfectly calm Stefan,' I said, and my voice was clam _eerily_ calm. My eyes moved back to Katherine's and I gave her a smile that I was certain looked evil, 'perfectly calm,' I assured her and I was briefly amused when I saw her take a step back, moving to put the coffee table in between us, and I wasn't the only one; I heard Klaus chuckle but I refused to look in his direction, favoring the wall instead.

'Well you're definitely something else. Aren't you love?' Klaus said, I could feel his eyes on me but I refused to look at him. Arrogant bastard.

'I need your help-,' he cut off when I cleared my throat and gave him a pointed look, 'we need your help… for Damon.' Stefan said and I nodded in approval.

'Well, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention.' Klaus said as he walked into the bedroom, without even thinking I moved to stand next to Elijah. He gave me a confused look, but otherwise didn't question it; he looked over to Stefan his voice soft as he spoke.

'You understand how important family is, or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own.' Elijah said.

'And so I shall,' Klaus said from the bedroom, and as if I was being controlled by someone else, my body moved in front of Elijah's protectively. Klaus however was moving too fast and so wasn't able to stop himself from stabbing me with the silver dagger he was planning on using on Elijah. Luckily I was stood slightly to the side of where Elijah's heart was, meaning that the dagger only pierced through my ribcage in to my lungs. You know… _only._ My eyes widened in shock as I felt the dagger pierce my left lung, my mouth opened as I tried to take a breath but I couldn't. I _couldn't._ I noticed Klaus' wide eyes before I fell to my knees, he appeared to be too shocked to stop me from falling, so did the rest of the vampires in the room. I reached to pull the dagger out, grounding my jaw to stop myself from yelling in pain; I coughed as my body fought to bring in some oxygen to no avail. I could feel tears streaming down my face from the pain it caused. This seemed to snap everyone into action as Elijah and Stefan kneeled down beside me, as well as a wrist, a bite mark freeing the blood from underneath the person's skin. I took it without question, not even looking to see whose blood I was drinking; I didn't stop drinking until the burning in my chest subsided and I could finally breathe again. I almost didn't want to stop drinking, the blood tasted… _good_ hell it was better than good; it was _divine._ My thoughts brought me to my senses and when this happened I noticed the tingles the arm I was holding to my lips was causing to erupt throughout my body, without thinking, my eyes looked up into Klaus' and I felt my traitorous heart skip a beat. _God Damn it._ The worry in his eyes disappeared as he smirked, his dimples becoming more prominent. _Why did he have to have dimples?_

I released his wrist before he could make some inappropriate remark that would make me more embarrassed as I pushed myself off the floor with a sigh.

'Well I have to say, I did not enjoy _that._ ' I muttered sarcastically, looking down to my- well _Jenna's_ \- shirt as an excuse to avoid the smug gaze of Klaus along with the shocked expressions that were on everyone else's faces. The tear in the blouse was a few inches thick but I was absolutely _drenched_ in blood, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust.

'That wasn't a very smart thing to do, love. You could have hurt yourself,' Klaus said, smirking.

My eyes narrowed in annoyance as I met his gaze while I handed the silver dagger I was still holding over to Elijah, 'oh you think you're funny don't you?' I asked.

'No, love. I _know_ I am.'

'Well that's weird, because I don't hear anyone laughing,' I said, making a show of holding my hand up to my ear.

He chuckled, clearly amused with my antics.

'Anyway… are we going to get back to why we're here or not?' I said my eyes flickering to Stefan; Klaus was getting on my last nerve.

'Ah, ah, ah. I told you I had an urgent matter to attend to, love. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?' He asked his expression dropping a little when he saw my eyes harden.

'Listen, here, you absolute arrogant, pompous, annoying pri-,' I was cut off when Stefan grabbed my waist and pulled me away from Klaus, he didn't get very far though as Klaus grabbed the hand that I had been poking him in the chest with, pulling me towards him. Of course Stefan's strength was no match for Klaus' and he pulled me from Stefan's grip with no trouble. Before I could blink, my whole body was pressed against his and I could _hear_ my own heart react. Klaus leaned down his nose skimming my collarbone as he inhaled. I shook my head in mock annoyance as I fought a shiver, 'enjoying yourself?' I muttered sarcastically.

He chuckled but otherwise didn't answer; I could feel all of the other vampires holding their breath as they waited for what he was going to do. Personally I was annoyed. At him and myself; why did my body feel like it was on fire wherever he touched me?

'What's with the constant need to inhale me?' I asked, losing my patience, 'I mean I know you're a vampire, but this is ridiculous.'

'Do you remember your debt to me?' He asked, taking a step back, releasing my wrist, I wasted no time in moving to stand by Stefan.

'Yes,' I said.

'Well I've decided what you can do for me,' He smiled.

'Okay…' I said nervously, I was trying and failing to read his expression for what it might be, but when he had is mask up it was impenetrable.

'A taste of your blood.' He said, his eyes flickering to my throat as he spoke, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was listening to my pulse in that moment.

'Right now?' I asked, thinking about how much blood I'd already lost today.

He seemed surprised that I didn't argue with him before he shook his head, 'not today, love. But I will collect.' He said, his voice ringing with promise.

'Can't wait.' I muttered sarcastically.

He chuckled before he turned to his brother, 'now Elijah, about our family…' it all happened so fast; I tried to move forward to help as Klaus reached forward and snapped his neck, causing Elijah to fall to the floor, before he reached into Elijah's suit pocket and brought out the silver dagger, embedding it into his chest. I winced at the action, my own experience with the dagger making me more sympathetic towards Elijah as his skin turned grey.

'Now… where were we?' Klaus smirked devilishly as he rushed forward, I moved to stand in front of Stefan, but he anticipated my move and called over to Katherine to restrain me. In a flash he had Stefan pinned to the wall, holding his heart in his hand. Katherine held my hands behind my back firmly, and I didn't bother fighting, knowing it would be pointless.

'Now, what am I gonna do with you?' Klaus said, glaring at Stefan. I cleared my throat, wanting him to know Stefan wasn't in on this alone. He turned to me sending me a smirk that made my heart beat rise a little, 'I'll get to you, love don't you worry.'

He turned back to Stefan who was trying not to choke on the blood that was coming into his mouth, 'the witches said you had a cure. Make me a deal. Just give me the cure, and I'll do whatever you want.' Stefan begged. Klaus took his hand from Stefan's chest, letting him fall to the floor.

'The problem is you're of no use to me like this. You're just shy of useless.' He said as he walked to the fridge, pulling out a blood bag and filling a glass to the brim before taking a sip.

'None for me thanks,' I muttered.

He looked to me, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement before he returned his gaze to Stefan.

'I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterrey and wiped out an entire migrant village...A true ripper. Sound familiar?' Klaus asked, kneeling on the floor beside Stefan as he waited for his wound to heal.

'I haven't been that way in a very long time.' Stefan said.

'Well, that's the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town.' Klaus said before he glanced over to me, 'well… vampire _and_ human.' He smirked.

I frowned, confused. I had already known that whatever it would take for us to get the cure for Damon would involve something bad for Stefan _and_ me but this wasn't what I had in mind.

'What are you saying exactly?' I asked, my head cocked to the side as I tried to read his expression.

'You want to save Damon? How 'bout a decade-long bender? I have big plans for you both when we leave this town.' He said his smirk growing.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from protesting- a decade? Not all of us were immortal; I'd be thirty by the time we came back. But I knew that didn't really matter; if a decade with Klaus and Stefan was what it took to save Damon then I'd do it. But I had to know why.

'Why do you want me as well? I can understand where Stefan would be useful but what good am I?' I asked.

'You're a lot more unique and useful than you give yourself credit for, Kim,' He said his eyes flickering over my face before he continued, 'I have no doubt that you'll prove your usefulness.'

I didn't say anything in response, I just slumped into Katherine's hold feeling frustrated; he knew what I was I could see it in his eyes but it didn't look like he was going to volunteer the information anytime soon. Klaus walked to the fridge pulling out three blood bags. He sat down in an armchair after he turned it to face Stefan. He threw one of the bags at Stefan's feet.

'Drink' he ordered.

Stefan picked up the blood bag and took a hesitant sip.

'All of it.'

Stefan drank until the bag was empty, only to have another thrown at his feet. He repeated the process again and again and _again._ I sighed in annoyance.

'The cure, Klaus. Do you have it or what? Otherwise you're just wasting our time.' I said, allowing my frustration to creep into my voice. Klaus looked over to me from the armchair before he was suddenly back in front of me.

'You can let her go now, Katarina. Thank you.' His eyes didn't leave mine as he spoke, and I was having trouble looking away from the intensity shining from his blue orbs. He blinked, breaking the trance as he reached behind me to grab Katherine. He allowed his hybrid face to come forward, his eyes glowing amber while black veins pulsed underneath his eyes. I couldn't help but find his werewolf eyes _fascinating_ as I stared into them; I was broken out of my trance when I heard Katherine yell in pain. I noticed that he had bitten her, before Katherine could freak out even more; he bit into his wrist and fed her his blood, the wound healed instantly.

'Your blood is the cure.' Stefan said.

'Gotta love mother nature' Klaus smirked, grabbing a clear bottle from the kitchen countertop cutting his wrist with a knife from the knife rack as he let his blood fill the bottle half way. He put a cork in it and placed it on the counter top.

'You want your cure? There it is.' Klaus said, as if he was daring one of us to take it.

'This feels like a trick…' I said, as I took a hesitant step forward, and sure enough as soon as I did Klaus had pushed me down onto the armchair he had been occupying for most of the afternoon.

'Now, now love. First we need to make a deal-,'

'I thought we already had?' I said frowning, 'we gallivant with you for a decade. Deal made.'

Klaus' eyebrows shot up in surprise, 'well Kim's on board. What about you, Stefan?' Klaus asked, throwing him another blood bag, Stefan drains it as if to answer his question. Klaus smiled; I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he thought about everything he could do with Stefan and me.

'So now that's settled… the cure? All of this deal making is pointless if Damon succumbs to his werewolf bite.' I reminded him.

'Katarina' Klaus said as he picked the bottle up from the counter top and handed it to her. He looked into her eyes, compelling her 'take this to Damon, and come right back.' As soon as he had spoken she took the bottle and flashed out of the front door.

Stefan looked to me in worry as he remembered that Katherine was on vervain, I nodded to him, letting him know that Damon would get the cure. I sighed as I settled further into the chair closing my eyes as I tried to keep a sense of calm. I'd just agreed to give up ten years of my life. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to regret it, because I knew that Damon was going to be okay, and to me that was what was most important.

'You know she's not coming back, right?' I asked, my eyes still closed.

'Why, because she's on vervain?' Klaus replied.

My eyes opened as I met his gaze, surprised.

'If you knew she was on vervain, why did you let her go when you've been looking for her for so long?' I asked, confused.

'Don't worry, Kim. You and Stefan will help me catch her in no time,' He smirked, not actually answering my question.

Stefan pushed himself up off the floor, offering me his hand as he pulled me up from the armchair. I understood why he was so eager to leave- he didn't want Klaus to find out about Elena. As if on cue, two men both wearing all black walked into the apartment, going straight to Elijah's body on the floor and carried it out without a word.

'Well, let's make a move shall we?' Klaus said brightly, obviously happy about the situation. I however was trying not to hyperventilate; I was leaving town _again_ with a vampire and the worlds oldest Original Hybrid and I wasn't going to get to say goodbye to my family. This was it. I pushed down the sadness growing in my gut, making my expression appear blank as I linked my arm through Stefan's and followed Klaus out of the front door.

'Let's take your car, shall we mate?' Klaus asked, taking in Stefan's car with an appreciative gaze. I didn't know why, all I knew was that it was a red car that had nowhere near enough room in it.

'We're not going to be using this car the whole time, right?' I asked, slightly worried as I imagined the stiff muscles I would most likely get from being in such a confined space for long periods of time.

Klaus chuckled before he shook his head, 'no love, we'll be upgrading soon don't you worry.'

I sighed in relief as I contorted my body to fit into the back seat, trying not to complain about the fact that I had to tilt my head slightly to fit my head in the back. We were driving for about twenty minutes before we got to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. During the drive I'd remembered with a start that I still had the bag I'd packed for the boarding house yesterday in the trunk of the car, almost as if I'd known I would need it. I had to wait for Stefan and Klaus to get out of the car before I could climb out, and as soon as my feet touched the floor I went to the trunk and pulled it open. Both Stefan and Klaus looked confused as to what I was doing, only becoming more so, when I smiled as I saw that my bag was still there. I pulled the duffel from the trunk and slung it over my shoulder.

'You never unloaded it, huh?' Stefan said, understanding.

'No. I was so eager to get away from Damon yesterday that I totally forgot.' I admitted, remembering Damon's refusal to talk.

'Well isn't that convenient,' Klaus smirked as we followed him into the warehouse, I rolled my eyes in response.

The whole warehouse was dark, aside from a small portion in the middle of the room where a coffin stood open revealing Elijah's body. I noticed the two men that had collected his body were lurking at the edge of the lights; if they'd taken another step back I wouldn't have been able to see them. Klaus walked up to the coffin, looking at Elijah with a sad expression on his face.

'Well I suppose, brother in a way you will be reunited with our family,' he said before he closed the lid, looking over to his two minions, 'put him with the others. We leave town tonight.' Klaus said.

My phone chimed, alerting me to a new text. I noticed Stefan pulling out his phone as well.

 _Elena: Damon's okay. Where are you?_

I looked over to Stefan and we shared a look of relief that Damon was fine as well as sadness over the fact that we wouldn't get to see Elena again for a long time. I sighed in defeat as I placed my phone back into my pocket after deleting the text and putting my phone on silent.

'Did Katarina make it in time?' Klaus asked, smiling.

I only nodded in response.

'Then why do you look so glum, love?'

I looked away from him but otherwise didn't answer, staring in the direction that his henchmen had disappeared in with Elijah's coffin. I could feel him staring at the side of my head but I refused to acknowledge him.

'Are we done here? Can we go?' Stefan asked, taking Klaus' attention from me.

'Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you.' Klaus said, and my gaze whipped to him, a feeling of dread forming in my stomach that only grew when a girl no more than sixteen stepped from the shadows; she looked terrified. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, her ice blue eyes glistened with fear. I went to walk over to her without even thinking, my only thought being to take away some of her fear. But Klaus held his hand up to me in warning, I froze where I stood, but the girl met my eyes when she noticed that I had stepped forward. I gave her a soft reassuring smile, while my eyes told her that I was sorry that this was happening to her. The fear in her eyes seemed to ebb away, and she gave me a bright smile in response. Klaus seemed amazed as he looked in between me and the girl who was now wiping the tears away from her cheeks.

'Incredible. One look from you and suddenly she isn't afraid anymore,' Klaus' eyes locked to mine in fascination before he forced himself to snap out of it, he turned back to the girl, holding out his hand, 'Come here, sweetheart.'

She looked to me before she stepped forward, coming to a stop in front of Klaus; he turned her so that she was facing Stefan and me as he pulled her short blonde hair back from her neck.

'See, I wanna make sure you honor our deal...that you'll be of use to me. Kim's just proven her usefulness' Klaus said, making his hybrid features come forward as he lent forward and bit into her neck. He drank for her moment before he pulled back, blood lightly dripping from his mouth as he grinned in pleasure. I felt Stefan stiffen beside me and when I looked over to him I noticed that his eyes were fixated upon the open wound on her neck. Without even thinking I went to move in front of her, but Klaus flashed over and pulled my back against his chest, holding me in place.

'I could have compelled her to behave, but a real ripper enjoys the hunt.' Klaus murmured, his breath tickling the back of my neck as he turned his head to speak to Stefan beside me. The girl started to run in the direction that she came from, and I was glad that she made it to the shadows before Stefan caught her; as selfish as it was I couldn't bear the thought of watching him kill her. Klaus turned my body around so that my front was now pressed to him instead. I looked up at him and noticed that he had at some point wiped the blood from around his mouth.

'Now, love don't worry. You'll be seeing far worse than this. You'd better get used to it,' he said, his voice just above a whisper, his hand gently wiping away a tear that I didn't realize had fallen.

'I don't know if I can,' I answered honestly, my voice breaking as I heard the girl scream; Stefan must have caught her.

'You will.' He said, his voice seeming sure.

'What did you mean when you said I proved my usefulness earlier?' I asked, trying to distract myself from the fact an innocent girl was dying and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Stefan needed to kill her to prove his loyalty to Klaus, so that we could leave town and get Klaus as far away from Elena as possible.

'You have an uncanny ability of being able to make people feel calm even on the brink of death,' he said, the hand that he had wiped the tear away with now caressing the side of my face. His other hand moved to firmly grip my waist, I didn't know if he did it on purpose to take my mind of the girl but it worked; the only thing I could focus on in that moment was how good his hands felt on my body.

'I noticed it at the ritual. You comforted both the werewolf and the vampire with a few words and a look. Your sister was so comforted that she fell asleep on you. You managed to make her relax when I fed on her to the point of her death. A bit peculiar don't you think?' He said, his thumb moving back and forth on my cheek, stroking gently.

I just shrugged, I didn't know what he wanted me to say; I didn't know how or why it happened.

'I'll come up with a theory about what you are, love. But then you do something else that completely side steps it. For example, your uncanny ability to know when something is going to happen, or when something isn't quite right. When I was in the history teacher's body, when I was planning on kidnapping the local vampire and werewolf, when I was going to dagger-,' He cut off as I interrupted him.

'So in other words, you haven't got a clue?' I asked, grinning in amusement.

He looked at me, his face blank for a moment, and I swore I heard his breath catch. He composed himself and grinned back, it was a true genuine smile and it made my heart beat pick up.

'I have a few theories, but we'll figure it out love don't you worry. If any one of my ideas are correct you will prove to be _incredibly_ useful.' He whispered into my ear before he placed a soft kiss on the side of my jaw, making me inhale sharply at the jolt that travelled through my body. As he moved himself back he stopped when his face was only half an inch away from mine, I could feel his eyes on me as he waited for what I was going to do. The trouble was, at that point, rational thinking had completely left me. All I could think about was how good his lips had felt on my skin and how I _needed_ to know how his mouth would feel on mine. I could feel myself leaning forward and I felt my lower lip gently brush against his, I gasped, the touch immediately making me want _more._ I was about to slam my lips to his when someone clearing their throat broke me out of my daze. I stepped back removing my hands from Klaus' hair, frowning when I tried to remember when that had happened. When I'd put a few feet between us the fog clouding my brain cleared, and I looked over to Stefan with my hands raised in a defensive gesture. Though my heart was beating so fast that _I_ could hear it, not to mention the fact that I was breathing heavily as I tried to get my heartbeat back to normal. It was safe to say that any attempt at appearing innocent was completely futile.

Stefan seemed a mixture of shocked and worried when I met his eyes, I just shrugged at him pointing accusingly in Klaus' direction, which Klaus seemed to find amusing as he chuckled with his hands clasped behind his back.

'Right, let's get going shall we?' Klaus said, clapping his hands together, the sudden action making me jump.

I picked up my duffel bag off the floor, wondering when I'd dropped it as me and Stefan followed behind Klaus as he made his way out of the door that we came through.

I turned to Stefan, 'if we're going to be road tripping with him for ten years, we're gonna have to have a few rules.' I said my eyes flickering in Klaus' direction as I spoke. Stefan raised his eyebrows, curious. He nodded his head slightly in encouragement, wanting me to continue, 'don't leave me alone with him. Ever.' I muttered.

'You got it,' Stefan said, nodding to me, his eyes flickering to Klaus who was now talking to the two vampires from earlier who were in the front of a huge white lorry, 'what was that anyway?' He asked.

'I don't know, I'm fine unless he gets too close.'

'And if he does get close…' Stefan trails off.

'My mind goes foggy and I can't think straight. I don't know why, but if he hasn't already he's going to make the connection and use it against me.' I said after I looked to make sure Klaus' attention was still elsewhere.

Stefan nodded, not questioning me any further; I didn't know if it was because he didn't have anything else to ask me or if it was because he felt that Klaus had tuned back into our conversation, but either way we lapsed into a comfortable silence. Klaus patted the side of the lorry, which the vampires took as a signal and drove away, revealing a black truck it two sets of bench styled seats and I quickly claimed the passenger side knowing I'd get carsick in the back. Stefan slid in to sit behind Klaus; I flung my duffel into the seat behind me, nearly taking off Klaus' head as he climbed in to the drivers seat. I couldn't help but snort in amusement when he glared at me.

'Sorry, I didn't do it on purpose,' I said holding my hands up defensively, 'though it was funny,' I mumbled under my breath, but of course they could both hear me; Klaus' glare intensified when Stefan laughed.

I settled into my seat as we started driving, the longer we drove, the more I wished I could change my clothes. I was still wearing Jenna's clothes that I'd put on at the boarding house that morning; they were drenched in what was now dried blood, and we were nearing eleven at night. I was exhausted and I just wanted to go to sleep, but whenever I was on the brink I'd jolt awake again because I wasn't wearing clothes that were comfortable to sleep in. Eventually I gave up and all of a sudden turned around in my seat, my ass sticking up in the air as I reached over into my bag. I glanced over at Stefan and noticed that he looked like he was sleeping, though he could have easily been faking it to avoid Klaus making conversation. I unzipped the duffel and sighed in relief when I saw a pair of navy cotton shorts and a hot pink vest top sitting at the top. I grabbed them, re-zipped the bag and sat back down in my seat.

'If I catch you looking I will gouge out your eyes,' I said pointing at Klaus with my index finger, my tone one of warning. He frowned at me in confusion until he noticed the change of clothing in my hands, causing him to smirk.

'No worries, love.' He said, looking forward.

I didn't trust him for one moment, so I pulled my vest top on over my blouse. Then I reached underneath unbuttoning it, I pulled my arm out of the right sleeve and yanked the whole blouse out from underneath my vest top when I pulled on the left sleeve. When I felt the cold, clean material against my chest I sighed in relief, at least until I realized I wasn't wearing a bra, and I remembered that I wasn't wearing any freaking _panties_ either. I almost groaned in annoyance, but I didn't want Klaus to look over to me. Thinking quickly I unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, laying the blouse over my lap as I pulled my jeans slowly down my legs. Then as quickly as I could I pulled the cotton shorts on, ignoring the bite of the cold on my legs coming from the seats. When I was done I bunched up the clothes and leaned behind me to stuff them into the side compartment in my duffel. When I turned back around I settled into my seat, finally comfortable as I sat with my back to the passenger door, my legs pulled up to my chest as I leaned against the back of the bench seat, smiling as I felt the familiar and welcome darkness consume me. Just as I was on the edge of sleep I felt a hand resting on my calf, rubbing back and forth as if trying to generate heat. Which if that was the purpose it succeeded; the warmth spread throughout my body, making me feel as if I was on fire. I made a sound of protest when it went to move away, and I heard a familiar chuckle in response, I was too far-gone to pinpoint how I knew it before I was out like a light.

 **This concludes the last chapter of season two! I'm going to add the new chapters on to this still seeing as we only have six chapters so far. I enjoyed writing this and I'm excited to explore the possibilities between Klaus, Stefan and Kim in the next few chapters.**

 **A huge thank you to Don'tLetMeForgetMe, Medatrix and LovelyDeadlyLie for choosing to either favorite or follow my story! It means a lot!**


	7. The Birthday

Chapter Seven

I blinked against the sunlight that was shining through the car windows, I couldn't help but groan in annoyance as I threw my arm over my eyes, trying my hardest to get back to sleep. But it was no use, with the sun rising, it would make the inside of the truck unbearably hot in no time. I sighed in defeat and angrily threw my arm away, wincing as the sunlight shone on my closed eyelids once more. I kept my eyes shut as I waited for myself to fully wake up, and as I became fully conscious I noticed an unusual amount of _heat_ coming from my left side making me frown. Usually, the bench seats were somewhat cool and they wouldn't have heated up that fast seeing as the sun had only _just_ risen. I assessed my position as I kept my eyes closed and noted I was sitting how I'd always sleep; leaning against the bench seat with my knees pulled up to my chest. It was then I noticed that the _bench seat_ that I was leaning on was _much_ more comfortable than usual. Almost as if it was an instinct, I nuzzled deeper into the heat that was encircling me, sighing at the sense of calm that washed over me, squelching the confusion that had been present a moment before.

I was just about to fall into unconsciousness when I heard a chuckle hit me. That wasn't what made me snap my eyes open though; over the past few months I'd grown used to Klaus chuckling at me as I groaned and moaned in disdain at the sunlight forcing me awake. No, what made my eyes snap open were the vibrations I felt on the left side of my body, as if _that_ was where the chuckles were coming from. When I opened my eyes I realised with a start that I was staring at the side of a neck and not just _any_ neck, but _Klaus'_ neck. I realised that somehow I had thrown myself over his lap, my ass on the bench seat to the right of his legs, my feet on the bench seat to the left of his legs, with my whole upper body leaning against his. I gasped in a breath as the thought echoed throughout my mind, and I snapped away from the peaceful calm feeling I had been experiencing, now feeling as if someone had just tipped ice cold water over me.

I was _cuddling_ with Klaus Mikaelson. Klaus Mikaelson's embrace had made me feel _calm._ What. The. Hell. As I inhaled sharply, Klaus' scent registered in my mind, making me realise that I was still basically in his lap. Without another thought I moved my hands from around his neck and tried to move away from him, but the small space made it difficult. I couldn't swing me legs around because of the steering wheel and dash board and I couldn't scoot myself back using just my arms due to the fact that I basically had _no_ upper body strength, which made me wonder exactly how we'd gotten into this position in the first place. He was still sat in his usual seat, giving the impression that I had come to him, but I couldn't remember it and there was no way I had managed to do this while I was unconscious; I suspected he had something to do with it. So instead of admitting defeat, I huffed crossing my arms over my chest as I looked up to Klaus' smug gaze, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

'Comfortable, love?' He asked, his voice slightly lower and huskier seeing as he'd just woken up. I hated it because it made his accent more pronounced and made my heart beat go erratic, which wasn't good seeing as it was already erratic enough with him touching me pretty much _everywhere_.

'Why do I feel like you had something to do with this?' I asked, my tone one of blame.

He gave me a smug smile that made my spine tingle before he answered, 'it's not my fault love you kept reaching for me and after a while you started saying my name. It was the damnedest thing; as soon as I touched you, you quietened right down.'

I cleared my throat as I tried to fight a blush; it made sense I supposed, I'd been told that I was the type to seek out cuddles in my sleep. I remembered the picture that Damon had taken at the boarding house the second day that I had arrived back on Mystic Falls. I had fallen asleep on the couch and somehow forced Elena to my chest as I forced her into a bear hug. But still… Klaus Mikaelson. My cuddling tendencies knew no bounds apparently.

'Sorry. Apparently I'm cuddly in my sleep,' I shrugged not even bothering to deny it.

'Don't worry love,' he leaned forward his mouth inches from my ear as he whispered, 'I didn't mind.' His hot breath cascaded over my ear and my neck making me shiver in pleasure. I sighed in frustration as I heard him chuckle smugly, his smirk showing off his dimples as he pulled himself back. My eyes snapped to his and my mouth opened as I was about to retort, but in that moment I noticed how _close_ we were. Close enough that if I wanted I would only have to move forward a centimetre and my lips would be on his. The problem was in that moment I couldn't think of one reason why kissing him _wasn't_ a good idea. My eyes flickered to his mouth before I met his eyes again and when I did, I saw his smugness fade away to something else; hunger. Hunger that seemed to intensify when he stared into my eyes, and that was how I knew that I was looking to him in exactly the same way. I felt his hand brush my hair behind my shoulder, the same hand then moving to gently caress the side of my face. My own hands moved of their own accord as one tangled into his curls, and the other moved to his shoulder and held onto him firmly, making his eyes darken lustfully.

Just as I was about to move _forward,_ he moved _back._ I frowned in confusion and disappointment; I looked at him, silently questioning him as to why he had suddenly moved away from me.

'So, are we going to stop for a bite to eat before we track down these girls?' Stefan asked from the back seat, making realisation and embarrassment wash over me like a bucket of ice water.

Stefan had made good on the promise he made with me before we left town with Klaus; he hadn't left me alone with him once. So he hadn't had to witness me being within kissing distance of Klaus since the close call in the warehouse, and I could hear the same surprise and worry in his tone that had been present the first time he had walked in on me and Klaus in a similar position a few months ago.

Stefan's voice had broken the spell, _just_ in time, mind you, and I tried again to move back to my usual seat by the passenger side window, but failed much like I had the first time. Klaus chuckled in amusement before he gently lifted me up and moved me so that my back was now against the passenger side door; I was annoyed at how little effort it took for him to literally lift up my entire body, while I struggled to _shuffle_ a few feet.

I reached to the back digging inside my duffel bag, giving Stefan a grateful smile as I searched for some clothes to change into for the day. Knowing that we'd most likely be inside the air conditioned car for most of the day I favoured some high waisted skinny jeans and paired them with a plain white crop top with thin straps, I pulled out my pink suede jacket as well just in case I got cold. I grabbed a bra, making sure it was white and a fresh pair of panties, I made sure I had everything before I turned around.

'I don't know about you guys but I'm starving,' Stefan said, adding to his remark when no one responded.

'Me too, though probably not for the same thing you are,' I said giving him a teasing smile before turning around as I pulled the vest top I had been wearing over my head. Stefan probably moved his gaze away, used to the routine by now; I had to forgo any shyness if I wanted to wear fresh clothes, something that I had quickly learned. We were usually on the road, meaning that we slept in the car most of the time. Though Klaus did assure that we stayed in a hotel at least once a week so that we could all get our clothes laundered. Klaus had sent off his minions to buy him and Stefan clothes on day one of the road trip, his only request being that they didn't go overboard as he didn't want to lug an excessive amount of clothes around with them. Most likely because the car wasn't the biggest and that's where the clothes would be stored ninety eight per cent of the time. His minions had returned with roughly a weeks worth of clothes for him and Stefan, thus the weekly hotel trips for laundering.

As I pulled the crop top on over my head I heard a bag unzipping behind me and figured that Stefan was changing his clothes as well. I pulled down my bra straps and undid the back, pulling the bra off from underneath my crop top. I grabbed the new bra, careful not to flash anything as I moved the cups over my breasts as I clipped it at the back and moved the straps over my arms. I grabbed my jacket and lay it over my lap as I pulled down both my cotton shorts and panties, leaving them on the car floor as I pulled on my fresh panties. Finally I was able to pull back the jacket after I'd quickly slipped on my jeans, happy that I didn't have to worry about flashing anything, I gathered up my dirty clothes on my lap.

'Everyone decent?' I asked, not wanting to turn around and see Stefan indecent.

'Yeah I'm good,' Stefan answered.

I nodded and turned to shove my pyjamas into the side compartment of my duffel before I turned back around and settled into my seat. I pulled on my seatbelt and wound the window down in preparation; I liked the wind hitting my face when we were driving, which I suspected we would be soon.

'So, we checking out that house today?' I asked, as I turned my head back into Klaus' direction, noticing that he'd already managed to change his clothes in the time it took for me to put my seatbelt on and wind my window down. Stupid supernatural speed.

'Yes love, we are. It shouldn't take too long for us to get there. Maybe a couple of hours.' Klaus replied.

'So we're looking at more like three hours then?' I said, continuing when Klaus looked confused, 'you know, with the food stop on the way. Not all of us can survive off blood, buddy. I need food,' I muttered, rubbing my stomach for emphasis.

Klaus rolled his eyes at my dramatics, but nodded in agreement. I thanked him before moving to stare out of the window. I did this every day; I took the time to think about my baby sister and brother at home, hoping that they were doing just fine without me, even though I _knew_ they weren't. My abilities didn't stop me from trying to fool myself though; I might have been in denial just a _tad_. I hated that they were hurting and I hated that their pain was getting worse and _worse_ every day and there was nothing I could do about it. So I took the time every morning to collect myself and push down my feelings of guilt and sadness after I reached out to read their feelings. I was getting better at it; in the beginning it took me a solid hour of silence and staring to collect myself, but now I was so used to the routine I was only silent for around five minutes. I still felt it, like a needle piercing my heart twenty-four hours a day, but in doing this and acknowledging their pain, it allowed me to stay in control.

'Okay so whose turn was it to pick a game?' I asked, my voice bright.

I'd decided from the moment I opened my eyes on day one of this road trip that I was going to make the most of it. I wasn't going to be miserable, I was going to be as positive as I could be and enjoy what I could. After all, we were talking about _ten years_ of my life and I'd be damned if I was going to spend it in misery. Don't get me wrong there was moments of complete misery; like when I'd had to bear witness to Klaus ordering Stefan to kill countless people after they had fulfilled their purpose and given us a lead to follow in order to find a particular werewolf. But seeing as I'd had years of practice in avoiding my feelings I'd pushed down my horror, guilt and sorrow over witnessing countless innocent people die and refused to deal with it. So far it was working, but I knew I was close to breaking; which seeing as we were only a few months in on a decade long bender, it wasn't looking good for me.

Stefan and Klaus both groaned in unison and I laughed; they both hated my insistence that we do something other than sit in silence to pass the time. But I couldn't have sat still if they'd paid me; I was restless after fifteen minutes of silence, I needed to be entertained.

'I think it was yours Stefan.' I said turning to give him a bright grin, which only grew when he rolled his eyes.

'I don't have any games,' he muttered.

'Don't be such a spoil sport,' I said, 'you can't actually expect me to believe that you've been around for more then ten decades and failed to pick up some road trip games?'

Stefan sighed in defeat and I heard Klaus chuckle at how easily I'd gotten him to come around.

'Fine. How about you pick instead?' Stefan suggested.

'Okay, how about-,'

'We are not playing would you rather _again.'_ Klaus interrupted me, his voice stern.

I wasn't the slightest bit intimidated; over the months we'd gotten used to each other's moods and while he was genuinely annoyed, he wasn't annoyed to the point of me having to give in. Though I would have been able to tell that without all of this extra time spent around him; my 'gifts' seemed to be growing and getting stronger and stronger every day, it felt like I was working my way up to something and I didn't know what to do with it seeing as I didn't actually know _what_ I was. I think that this growth was why I could feel Elena and Jeremy's feelings from so far away, but only if I concentrated, hence my quiet time in the morning. It wasn't just theirs though, I could feel what anyone around me was feeling and at this point I didn't even have to look at them to get them to calm down, it was as if my body sent out a calming wave in their direction as an instinct. My sensitivity to feelings wasn't the only thing that seemed to be growing stronger either; my instincts were growing too. I knew when someone was going to run or cause trouble before I even saw their face, only instead of helping them like I wanted to do, I told Klaus to give him a heads up knowing me offering any assistance to the people he was trying to intimidate wouldn't do anyone any favours.

'Excuse me, but I believe that we agreed that whoever's turn it was got to pick the game and _I_ want to play would you rather.' I said my chin jutting out in defiance as I held Klaus' gaze, refusing to look away. He gave in first, which I was relieved about seeing as he was supposed to be _driving_ and he'd spent too long staring into my eyes challengingly.

'Great, so who wants to go first?' I asked, my eyes flickering in between them both, grinning when they both sighed together, knowing that I wouldn't give in until one of them volunteered.

'I will,' Stefan said.

'Great I'll come up with a great one for you, Stef don't you worry…' I said my voice trailing off as I thought.

Klaus chuckled when he noticed Stefan's miserable expression… let's just say whenever we played this game, things tended to get… freaky. I couldn't help it though; making them both uncomfortable had become my main source of entertainment during these trips.

'Would you rather…' I started, trailing off, a grin forming on my face, when I heard Stefan suck in a breath as he prepared himself for what I was going to say. I turned to face him, wanting to see his expression; that was where I got my fun from after all. As I was aiming to make him as uncomfortable as possible I was going to make it sex related as that generated the most fun reactions, he seemed to realise this and I noticed he was trying to control his expression.

'Would you rather have sex with someone who has bad breath or have someone who calls you 'love bunny' while you're doing it?' I asked, trying to keep my expression blank.

Despite his best efforts, Stefan's jaw dropped open and his face paled; I could feel the shock and embarrassment coming off him in waves. I bit my lip trying to contain my laughter, which got harder as Klaus started laughing when he seemed to sense Stefan squirming. I slapped Klaus' shoulder lightly putting a stop to his laughter, sending him a genuine smile when he seemed to struggle, I saw his eyes look to me with amusement glittering in his orbs before I forced my gaze back to Stefan, not wanting to stare at Klaus for longer than I should.

It was weird; it was true that we had gotten used to each other's moods but me and Klaus had somehow developed this weird _friendship_. We knew how to make each other laugh and seemed to be able to know what one another was thinking with just a look. I didn't know how it had happened but I found myself _liking_ it, though I would never admit that out loud. Mine and Stefan's friendship had even grown; I he could make me laugh as well and on the rare occasion I was able to get a startled laugh out of him. We also often shared the same look of annoyance when Klaus had one of his tantrums, and he had come to appreciate my gift of being able to know what he was feeling whenever I sent him a calming wave to ease some of the guilt after he killed someone on Klaus' command. We fit together nicely as a group, with me being the buffer between Stefan and Klaus, seeing as they weren't really buddies; and our group functioned well, at least as long as Klaus kept away from my personal bubble.

'I-wh-what kind of a question is that?' Stefan stuttered, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I snorted, holding up my index finger moving it side to side in a nuh-uh motion, 'that's not how you play the game Stefano. You have to answer.'

He sighed but gave in, knowing how relentless I would be until I got an answer, 'bad breath,' he muttered.

'I get that I don't think being called 'love bunny' would be encouraging,' Klaus nodded in agreement. I snorted but otherwise didn't comment, I moved back to my seat my back pressed against my door as I crossed my legs that were resting along the bench seat, bending my knees slightly to avoid touching Klaus.

'Your go,' I said nodding to Klaus, 'you ask me then Stefan asks you.'

An evil grin appeared on Klaus' face and I knew he was going to base his question on what would make me blush the most. The bastard.

'Klaus,' I said my index finger pointed at him in warning, but it had no effect as I saw the amusement and mischief shining in his eyes when he turned to me.

'Would you rather give up sex for a year or give up masturbating for a year.' He said and I could feel him forcing his voice to stay at a normal level rather than dropping to a husky tone.

Instead of blushing, I snorted to myself; he didn't know how easy that was for me and I answered without even having to think about it, 'give up sex for a year,' I said, not adding that I couldn't miss what I wasn't already getting or what I had never had.

He lifted his eyebrow in surprise and opened his mouth as if he was going to ask me to elaborate but before he could I informed Stefan that it was his turn to ask Klaus. That was how it went for an hour and a half, until we were finally able to pull over for something to eat. Well I ate, they drank from the compelled waitresses, I didn't even blink at the sight; I had gotten used to it over the last few months. At first it would dissipate my appetite but I had learned if I didn't eat with them then I wouldn't eat anything for at least twenty for hours and I _needed_ my food. Eventually it didn't bother me when I rationalised that they were vampires; they needed blood like I needed food. It was as simple as that. Every time I saw Klaus feeding, I couldn't help but think about Klaus' promise to collect my blood as a payment for my debt to him; so far he hadn't mentioned it since the day in Alaric's loft and a part of me just wanted him to get it over with, knowing that he could literally demand to feed from me at any moment.

The conversation in the diner was minimal as we all ate; I ate up my pancakes with blueberries and strawberries hungrily, slurping up my iced water between each bite. Delicious. We were soon finished and I sighed happily at my full stomach as we started to drive again; we chatted in the car a little about what the plan was going to be when we reached the house that was the next point of interrogation. It only took us thirty minutes to get to the house, but Klaus stopped the car a mile away, wanting to use the broken down story in an attempt to appear friendly. I sighed in annoyance, knowing that this would mean I was going to be carried at vamp speed to the house. I moved towards Stefan when we got out of the car and he crouched, allowing me to jump on his back without a word. Within seconds we reached a town house that was _literally_ in the middle of nowhere. I knew that they were both going to die before Stefan set me down on the ground when we'd come to a complete stop. Klaus went to move forward, probably planning on knocking but I stopped him with a hand on his arm, he looked to me waiting for what I had to say.

'Don't bother, they aren't going to trust you.' I said.

He raised his brows, as if he was shocked that someone wouldn't believe that he was an innocent bystander. I gave him a 'who are you trying to kid' look, which made him smirk.

'All right, love. Looks like we're doing this the old fashioned way then.' He replied moving to step forward, me trailing behind him as Stefan went to block the back door.

Klaus turned to me as he stepped on the porch, holding out his hand. Knowing what he was suggesting I shook my head. He tilted his head to the side in a 'just go with it look'. I rolled my eyes, knowing it would be easier if I just played along I took his hand, preparing myself for what his touch would do to my body. Sure enough as soon as my hand touched his, my heartbeat sped up and a sense of calm and longing washed over me along with the tingles that shot up my arm. Klaus sent me a knowing smirk and I rolled my eyes feigning annoyance. He turned to the door, raising his fist he knocked three times.

I heard a dog bark from behind us, and I whipped my head around to see a Great Dane sprinting towards us, looking defensive and vicious. Without thinking I turned to place myself in front of Klaus, my chest against his, allowing his back to be the one that the dog feasted on. Personally I thought that was fair- out of the two of us he was the one with the supernatural ability to heal. He looked down to me, amused and honestly, the irony wasn't lost in me. I was hiding behind the hybrid who I had seen murder more people than this dog had probably seen. Logically it didn't make sense, I'll admit, but I knew he wasn't a danger to me, and that dog definitely was. Klaus turned staring at the dog, I frowned when I heard it whimper, and when I peeked behind Klaus I saw him running away in the opposite direction. I was about to send him a 'what did you do' look, when I noticed that his eyes were shining amber as he turned back to me. He gave me a smug smirk and let his human face come forward, moving me back to his side as the front door opened.

I felt the woman's weariness before she opened the door and I sent a calming wave towards her without thinking. Her posture relaxed slightly as she turned from me to Klaus. He didn't waste any time in trying to charm her and compelled her to invite him inside immediately. I followed behind him as he let go of my hand to take the woman's throat, guiding her back into the house.

'Who's at the door?' Another woman yelled from the kitchen in front of us and she came into view as we walked further forward. Both women were blonde, but the one in the kitchen had slightly longer hair as well as a curvier figure. She took one look at Klaus with her roommate in his arms and went to bolt for the back door, which I thought was a little cowardly. I tutted in disapproval, but softened when I felt the terror coming from her, that only grew when she opened the door to reveal Stefan waiting for her. His vampire face came forward in warning and she backed away from the door immediately. I stopped myself from calming them for now, knowing if they were scared they would tell Klaus what he wanted to know quicker; it was bad enough that they were going to die but that didn't mean they had to suffer.

'Please don't be alarmed. I was told Ray Sutton lives here.' Klaus said.

'He's almost never here. He's on the road mostly.' The woman Klaus was holding answered.

'But I expect he makes it home once a month. That's what I thought. Where is he now? If I have to make you tell me it's going to be infinitely more painful for you.' Klaus said, his tone laced with warning as he smiled maliciously.

'He's in Toll. It's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort. It's on Highway 41.' The woman Klaus was still holding answered, as soon as she did I allowed their terror to flow from them both into me, taking in a sharp breath as I did; my gifts may have been developing, but I was still learning and their terror felt like my own and I didn't know how to stop it. As I looked to their peaceful expressions though I knew it was worth it. Even if I was struggling to breathe right then, I could feel both Klaus and Stefan's concern and it was overwhelming me, making my breathing come in more sporadically. I vaguely registered Klaus ordering one of the women to invite Stefan in, as I tried to get air into my lungs.

'Make that one suffer,' Klaus nodded to the woman who tried to run, 'kill this one quickly,' he pushed the woman he had been holding towards Stefan, as soon as he had Klaus came towards me, gently picking me up bridal style as he vamped away from the house and to the car. It happened so quickly I didn't even have time to close my eyes. I gasped when Klaus gently set me down on the ground and did the last thing I expected him to do; he hugged me. He held my head to his chest with one hand, the other going to my back, rubbing up and down comfortingly. I returned the hug, my hands wrapping around his waist squeezing gently as I silently thanked him; his embrace made me feel calm and _safe_. I didn't even realize that my breathing had gone back to normal or that I didn't feel at all terrified until I felt Klaus place a gentle kiss to my hair, making my heart skip a beat. I pulled my head back from his chest and looked up to his soft yet concerned gaze.

'Thank you,' I said giving him a small but genuine smile.

'You're welcome, love.' Klaus said, returning my smile with one of his own.

It was strange, any other time we were this close I would be feeling something completely different; the uncontrollable desire for him to slam his lips to mine as he explored and claimed my body. But in that moment, I didn't feel that way, I felt safe and protected the whole feeling was also alien to me as I had always found myself being the protector and not the protected, but I couldn't deny that this event was shifting our relationship in a different direction, and ironically I had no idea where it was heading, but I could feel that it had the potential to be a great thing, as well as the other part of me who felt the danger that could also arise. I didn't know what to do with it so I just pushed it down and pretended that this was just a moment of a friend comforting a friend, even though I knew I was blatantly lying to myself; no friend could make my whole body feel like it was burning with desire as well as make me feel perfectly safe whenever they preferred. He held me for a little longer before he released me and we both climbed into the car, and he turned on the radio to fill the comfortable silence.

When Stefan returned I could feel the guilt radiating from him more than I had all summer, although he was schooling his expression to make himself look emotionless, which was for Klaus' benefit. I focused and sent some reassuring waves in his direction and I smiled when I felt his guilt lessen into almost nothing. Klaus noticed what I was doing, he always noticed, but other than glancing at Stefan with an unreadable expression on his face, he didn't say anything.

'So… how long are we going to be on the road for?' I asked, already knowing it wasn't going to be good.

'Just under ten hours, love, so make yourself comfortable.' He replied, smirking when he saw the horror on my face. I looked to the clock and noticed it had just turned ten in the morning, meaning we would get there at about eight in the evening.

I sighed and did as he said as I told him it was his turn to pick a game. He chose the alphabetical game; we started with food and continued through to different categories after we finished the alphabet. Klaus was the first to lose, making it boil down to Stefan and me; Stefan eventually won and I laughed when he stuck his tongue out at me in victory. After that I snuggled into the bench seats sighing happily at how comfortable I was.

 _I opened my eyes and looked at the time on the bedside table, it read 7:15am. With a grin I closed my eyes and rolled over, ready to go back to sleep. I gasped when my hand reached out and collided with a hard body. My eyes snapped open and I saw a naked chest, a lean and muscular naked chest. If I wasn't so confused I would have spent longer admiring, but my eyes shot up to the face that belonged to the body of their own accord, though my body already knew due to the tingles that erupted when my skin touched his._

' _Klaus?' I said, surprised. Though my surprise quickly turned to confusion, had we had sex and I somehow had completely forgotten about it? Klaus' eyes were still closed and he was breathing evenly, so I assumed that he was still sleeping. I racked my brain trying to come up with some memories of what had happened but my mind just came up blank. I frowned and decided that I should probably leave before he woke up and gave me the smug smile I knew he would give me, though I couldn't help but admire the peacefulness on his face for a moment. He truly was beautiful. I moved to get out of the bed only to realize I was completely freaking naked. I looked around the room trying to locate some clothing and sighed in relief when I saw a dress in a heap on the floor, at least until I picked it up and saw that it had been completely torn down the middle._

' _What on earth?' I muttered aloud._

' _What's wrong love?' Klaus murmured sleepily from behind me, though I could hear him smirking._

' _What the hell happened to my dress?' I said, holding it up for him to see._

' _You're the one who couldn't wait love. You begged me to rip it off,' he murmured, smirking at me in a way that made me press my thighs together._

' _I did?' I asked, confused and a little disappointed that I couldn't remember._

 _As I was lost in my thoughts I didn't register that Klaus had made his way behind me, until he pulled me against his chest. I gasped at the contact; if I thought being this close to him with clothes on sent my heart beat haywire, it had nothing on what skin on skin contact did to me. Klaus' hands pressed flat against my stomach, running down to my thighs, making the ache between them grow. He removed one of his hands to remove the hair from the right side of my neck as he leaned down, kissing along my jaw before moving down to my neck. I released a moan when he nipped and sucked as well as moving his hands to massage my breasts._

' _I can jog your memory, if you like love?' Klaus murmured into my neck, his lips turning up into a smirk when I moaned his name in response._

 _I turned around jumping to lock my legs around his waist as my hands locked into his hair. Klaus grinned at my eagerness as he stepped backwards until we fell onto the bed; he flipped us so that I was now underneath him as he leaned down to place feather light kisses along my collarbone, making my whole body shiver in anticipation. Not being able to stand it anymore, I pulled his head up and went to bring his lips to mine-_

'Love?' Klaus said, his tone amused.

I frowned as I blinked, feeling disorientated. I looked up to see Klaus grinning at me, his eyes twinkling with amusement and… desire?

'What the hell is going on?' I asked, rubbing my eyes. I noticed that it was now dark outside and I wondered how long I had been asleep for, as I glanced to the back seat and noticed that Stefan was gone.

'We're here love.' Klaus said by way of explanation, I met his eyes again and noted his smug smirk. My thoughts travelled back to my dream and I pointed at him accusingly.

'That was you wasn't it?' I said, narrowing my eyes in accusation; I wasn't on vervain he could have easily gotten into my head.

He laughed and held up his hands in a defensive gesture, 'no love, that was all you. I couldn't help but take a peak when I heard you say my name, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.' He said his smirk growing even more.

I knew he was telling the truth and I groaned in annoyance, running my hands down my face.

'Shut up. It's not my fault, I can't control what I dream about,' I muttered not bothering to deny it.

He only grinned in response, not being able to take his smugness anymore I flung my door open and made my way into bar, knowing that he was following closely behind me. I wasn't surprised when I saw a tall man chained to the radiator in front of a dartboard as Stefan threw darts into him. I did wince however when I felt how much pain he was in, I felt Klaus' hands on my waist and somehow I was able to gain enough control to push his pain away from me. I patted one of Klaus' hands reassuringly as I stepped forward out of his hold, I made my way to a stool on the bar, making sure I was in a seat that wouldn't put the man being tortured into my view. Klaus sat down next to me, his grin still in place, which only grew when I rolled my eyes.

'You need to get rid of that smug grin. It's annoying,' I said leaning over the bar to grab a bottle of Jack Daniels and two glasses. I poured some liquid into the glasses, keeping one for myself and offering the other to Klaus, he took it happily.

'I can't help if I'm smug because you were dreaming about me, love.' Klaus said, his smirk falling for a moment while he took a drink of his whiskey.

'Whatever,' I said rolling my eyes and downing my drink, appreciating the burn as I poured myself another, 'so I'm assuming the man being assaulted over there is Ray?' I asked.

'Correct, love. He's not feeling particularly helpful, so Stefan is simply persuading him.'

I looked around the bar, noticing that everyone was carrying on as normal as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening; I assumed they'd been compelled, which was confirmed when the only fear in the room was coming from Ray in the corner. I hated to admit it, but Klaus was right about what he had said all those months ago; all of the things I had seen had forced me to build up a tolerance to it. As I was getting control of my ever-growing abilities, I was able to control when I picked up on other people's feelings, well most of the time anyway. Sometimes I did get caught off guard, like when I'd walked into the bar, but otherwise I was able to tune out their feelings, until I was able to do something about it. Before I'd learned to do that it had been like I was suffering with them; Stefan and Klaus had been close to refusing to let me come along with them, but I'd insisted, wanting to be there to relieve them of their fear. I wasn't stupid and knew that they could have easily kept me away, but thankfully I gained some semblance of control before it came to that.

A woman entered the bar, and when she didn't have a reaction to the show in the corner, I knew she was one of Klaus' informants, and suddenly I had a feeling what she was going to say was going to be bad.

'Hello mister Klaus. I have some more information for you. You told me to tell you if I saw anything. Some of my guys spotted Damon at the farm house.' The woman said.

Klaus' brows rose in annoyance, 'why thank you, Claudine. Be sure that you and your friends keep up the hard work.' He said.

She nodded and walked out of the bar without another word. Before I could say anything, Stefan walked over having heard the conversation; I decided to let him handle it.

'My brother still on our trail?' Stefan asked, careful to keep the emotion from his voice, though I could feel his panic.

'He's getting closer, I'm gonna have to deal with that.' Klaus responded, moving as if he were about to get down from his stool, but was stopped when Stefan put a hand on his arm.

'No, no, no! Let me handle it.' Stefan replied, his voice insistent.

'Why should I let you leave?' Klaus asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave Stefan a threatening glower.

'Because you know I'll come back,' He said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

'Do I?' Klaus asked, his eyes flickered to mine and I gave him a small nod that Stefan wouldn't have noticed.

'You saved my brother's life; I'm at your service.' Stefan said, his voice monotone.

'Ah, you sound so tedious and indentured. Aren't you even having the least bit of fun?' Klaus asked, gesturing to the werewolf in the corner with a big smile on his face.

I rolled my eyes and huffed in annoyance, gaining his attention, 'not everyone gets off on torturing innocent people, Klaus.' I muttered knowing he was about to ask what my problem was.

His eyes narrowed, but his attention returned to Stefan as he spoke again.

'I'll make sure that my brother doesn't bother us any more.' Stefan said, I gave his arm a squeeze in comfort before he made his way to the door, before he opened it though realization came over me.

'Stefan!' He stopped when he heard the urgency in my tone, turning to look at me with worry, 'you're breaking the only rule of this trip,' I said, feeling myself start to panic. I hadn't been completely alone with Klaus since we left Mystic Falls, and with my dream being so fresh I knew I wouldn't stand a chance if he got too close. In fact I _knew_ if Stefan left us alone _something_ was definitely going to happen.

'I'm sorry, Kim. I have to do this,' Stefan said, giving me a small regretful smile before he opened the door and walked out.

I could feel the shock on my face, and when I turned to Klaus and saw the amusement on his, I knew he could see it too. I jumped from my stool, almost breaking my ankle in the process, mind you, and I went to walk behind the bar pretending to look at the different selections of alcohol to keep myself busy and more importantly, keep a solid barrier between me and the man I for whatever reason couldn't resist when he was in touching distance.

'What are you doing, love?' Klaus asked, and I could _hear_ the smile in his voice without looking up.

'Just looking at the different whiskeys,' I lied, picking up a random bottle and holding it up as if to prove what I was saying.

'That's vodka,' he replied, trying to hold in his laughter.

I blushed and put the bottle back down, 'I knew that,' I said, scratching my head.

'Why are you so nervous, love?' Klaus asked.

'My track record isn't the greatest whenever I'm left alone with you.' I answered honestly, knowing that lying was pointless.

'Well love, now that you mention it…' He trailed off, I looked up and noticed he was gone from his stool, I stiffened when I felt his warm breath on the back of my neck, 'I was think I might call in my debt now that we are in fact, alone.'

'Okay,' I said, knowing what I owed him.

I felt his lips on my neck, kissing me softly, and I couldn't help but close my eyes from the pleasure of it. I was bracing myself for the feel of his double fangs when all of a sudden I was being pulled along by my wrist. I frowned in confusion but followed without complaint, he pulled us into the women's bathroom and locked the door. I was about to ask why he wanted to do this in the bathroom of all places when I felt myself being lifted and being flashed over to the wooden counter, placed on the flat surface between the two sinks. I noticed that this position meant that he didn't have to lean down to get to my neck; I was at the perfect height for him. He pushed my thighs apart as he stepped between them and I had to bite back a moan at the intimacy of the gesture; he was about to feed on my blood for Christ sakes! I needed to pull myself together.

'Relax, love. I can assure you this won't hurt,' He said, and I felt myself relaxing from the softness and sincerity present in his voice. He gently pushed the hair away from the right side of my neck before he leant forward; pressing kisses along the crook of my neck. I could feel my heart beat pick up and my pulse quicken; he pulled back for a moment and I knew that he was bringing his hybrid face forward, before I had enough time to worry about whether it would hurt, his fangs gently pierced the crook of my neck.

Despite Klaus' assurance, I had still expected to find this completely painful, to be counting down the time until he would let me go and I could go on, happy that my debt had been paid and I would never have to do this again. What I didn't expect was the shockwaves of pleasure that were travelling through my body, intensifying with each time he sucked the blood from my neck; I didn't expect my one of my hands to go to his back while the other clamped in his hair, pulling him closer, urging him to keep going. I moaned in pleasure when his hands slowly travelled down the sides of my body, stopping where the majority of my stomach and back were exposed thanks to the crop top I was wearing. His hands moved back and forth, almost tauntingly, as he played with the exposed skin before he suddenly but forcefully pulled my upper half flush against his. I moaned at the contact and responded by wrapping my legs around his waist, aligning our lower halves, the friction made me moan, while it made him growl and pull me even tighter against him, not that I minded. I moved the hand that was resting against his back to his front, sliding it down his chest, coming to a stop at his belt. My hand played with it almost teasingly, and I gasped when I felt him growl hungrily, I slipped my hand underneath his shirt, caressing his chest, moaning at how good he felt.

All too soon, he pulled back from my neck resting his forehead against mine, breathing heavily. I grinned when I saw the satisfaction in his eyes, knowing that I had put it there, his hand caressed the side of my face, while he gently kissed my forehead. The feel of his lips on my body made my pulse quicken. He moved his face back from mine as he grinned at me.

'Delicious,' he said, licking the left over blood from the corners of his lips. My eyes followed the trail of his tongue and I felt the desire growing inside of me to the point of no return. I looked up to his eyes and noticed that he was watching me patiently, leaving the decision completely up to me. I didn't hesitate and slammed my lips to his, moaning in pleasure when I _finally_ felt his lips on mine. His hands went to my exposed waist, while I hungrily pulled at his shirt wanting it _off._ He pulled back for less than a second before he came back, and I moaned when I discovered that his shirt was gone. His mouth moved from mine, down to my neck, nipping and sucking as he went, he licked the still open wound on my neck, making me shiver, before he moved back up, still nipping and sucking, his lips turning up every once and a while when I moaned. My nails were digging into his back, scratching hard enough to draw blood, but he didn't mind, instead he growled in approval. I pushed him away from me, ignoring the confusion on his face as I reached to pull off my shirt. I saw him grin before I pulled him back to me, our lips meeting once again. I moaned at the feel of our skin meeting, allowing his tongue access to my mouth, making sure that none of my mouth went unexplored. I moaned when his nails dug into the bottom of my back as he pulled me closer. I felt his hands travel to the front of my body, never leaving my skin as he did so, leaving a trail of goose bumps where he had caressed me gently. His hands came to my breasts, I gasped against his mouth when I felt him rip my bra from my body and I felt him grin at my response for a second before his lips were moving against mine again. He pulled me against his chest and I moaned deep in my throat at the friction of his bare chest against mine. He pulled away from my mouth again his lips moving down to my breasts, taking my left nipple into his mouth and sucking gently, allowing his teeth to come out and graze me softly. I could tell he was enjoying the noises I was making in response and I grinded my hips against his, biting my lip when he released a hungry growl. I was about to reach forward for his belt buckle, but before I could I looked down to see that Klaus had ridded me of my jeans and panties as well as moving his own jeans and boxers down to his knees. He moved forward again bringing his lips against mine and I wrapped my legs back around his waist, trying to bring his hips forward to connect with mine, but unfortunately the fact that he was an Original meant that I wasn't as _quite_ as strong as he was.

He chuckled at my eagerness however, he still didn't move his hips forward, but he did pull away from the kiss, smiling softly as I whimpered in protest. He stared into my eyes, and I know that he was searching for any hesitancy that suggested that I didn't want to do this. But in that moment all I wanted was him. I didn't care that my first time was going to be in a bar's bathroom, I didn't care that Stefan might return at any moment and walk in on something that he would never be able to un-see. All I cared about was the pleasure that he made me feel and how I wanted more. A part of me realized that he _shouldn't_ be the one to make me feel this way, but he was, and all I had ever wanted my first time to be was with someone who would make it pleasurable, and so far Klaus had already proven that he would do just that. Klaus searched my eyes for another moment, and he must have found what he was looking for because he smashed his lips back to mine, nibbling on my lower lip gently, all signs of stopping gone.

'Klaus, _please,_ ' I moaned when his lips moved from my lips to my jaw, I felt him smile against my skin, but I didn't have it in me to be embarrassed at that moment; the throbbing in between my thighs was becoming unbearable.

He reached down, his hand palming my core, and I heard him groan when he found out how much I wanted him. His thumb rubbed my clit, while one of his fingers went inside me, pumping softly; that paired with his lips sucking and nipping at my collarbone I was falling apart in no time. While the after shocks were running through my body, I felt him line himself up against me, before he pushed forward, filling me in one swift movement. I moaned at the pain mixed with the pleasure, and dug my heels into his ass cheeks to urge him to move. With a chuckle he complied. He moved in and out of me swiftly, his hips meeting mine forcefully, in a way that I knew would leave me sore afterwards; he was stretching me to my limits and I loved every single second of it. He stretched my thighs wider, giving himself more room and allowing him to move even _deeper_ as he pounded into me. I could feel myself about to break apart all over again and I knew he could feel it too, he kept his hands on my thighs keeping them spread apart as he leaned forward and took one of my breasts into his mouth, biting down and breaking the skin. That was all it took for me to fall apart around him, my head thrown back as I screamed his name while the orgasm shook me to my core.

'That's my girl,' Klaus whispered into my ear, leaning to suck my ear lobe gently, making me shudder in pleasure as he also reached his climax with a satisfied growl.

He held me close, almost hugging me as we waited for our breathing to go back to normal. When it finally did, he pulled back almost warily; I could tell by his guarded expression that he didn't know how I was going to react. For whatever reason, I hated seeing him so unsure so I leaned forward and softly kissed his cheek.

'That was…' I started but I trailed off when I couldn't think of a good enough word to describe exactly how I had found _that._ This only seemed to encourage him, however, and with a smug grin he stepped forward realigning my body with his as he softly kissed my lips before pulling back.

'Yes love yes it was…' he mimicked me by trailing off.

'Better than I'd imagined my first time could ever be,' I admitted honestly.

He seemed to freeze before he moved back a little so he could read my expression, I could feel his surprise and his shock radiating off him; he couldn't believe that this had been my first time. I nodded to his unspoken question and his whole face seemed to soften, as he opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by a crash coming from the bar. He gave me a peck on the lips in apology as he quickly used his vamp speed to dress before he vamped out of the bathroom to see what was happening out front. I dressed quickly as well; throwing my bra into the bin when I realized it was now un-wearable. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and noticed that I looked thoroughly _fucked._ My cheeks were still a little flushed, my eyes gave away my satisfaction and my lips were bruised from all of the kissing we had done. As I brushed my hair away from my neck to inspect where he had fed from me, I gasped at all of the small bruises I saw covering my neck, my chest and my collar-bone. I was _covered_ in hickeys! Jesus Christ. Luckily my hair covered them all, or I would have been a _lot_ more embarrassed as well as annoyed.

I noticed the dull but pleasant ache between my thighs as I made my way back to the bar, and I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. I searched within myself to see how I felt about the whole thing now that I had the space away from him to think, but I couldn't conjure up an ounce of regret, it was almost as if it was _supposed_ to happen. Maybe I just needed to get him out of my system and now that we'd had incredible hot sex my body would calm down whenever he was around? I was snapped out of my thoughts as I saw Klaus standing by the pool table, staring at the now dead body of Ray Sutton.

'You're turning him? I take it he gave you the location of the pack?' I asked, coming to a stop on the other side of the pool table opposite him.

I didn't know what this meant for us, but I was determined to act as I normally would. His eyes met mine as he noticed my casual tone and guarded expression.

'Yes, love; when Stefan returns we'll make our way to the hotel across the road. He should be out long enough for us to get a decent amount of sleep, and if we're lucky he stay out until we reach his pack in the mountains.'

I nodded looking anywhere but him, 'I'm going to get some air if you don't mind,' I muttered, making my way out of the door. He didn't stop me so I assumed he trusted that I wasn't going to run away. I walked out of the bar and went to our car, which was parked as far away from the bar as it could possibly be. I lay on the hood, staring at the stars in the sky, happy when a sense of calm washed over me. I don't know how long I was there for, but someone standing over me startled me, and I nearly screamed until I realized it was Stefan. I could feel the remorse coming off him and I reached up to hug him immediately, taking in his remorse as if it were my own. He gave me a thankful smile when I pulled away, positioning myself so that I was sitting on the car with my legs dangling off, swinging back and forth.

'How was it?' I said, not really wanting to know what he had done to get Damon to stay away.

He didn't answer and yet that was answer enough.

'Did you- did you see,' I made sure to mouth the next word I said, incase Klaus was listening, 'Elena?'

He shook his head sadly and I squeezed his hand comfortingly.

'Today's her birthday.' I said, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest as I said it aloud; I had known this morning but I had been pushing it down, not wanting anyone to question my emotions.

This time Stefan squeezed my hand and I gave him a thankful, but watery smile in thanks. Abruptly, I jumped down from the car and gestured to Stefan, indicating that we should probably get back to the bar before Klaus lost his temper. He went to follow me, but his eyes were staring at my shoulder, and he was frowning. I was confused until I remembered that the side of my neck he was staring at was where Klaus had bitten me and left about ten hickeys _literally._ I flushed and pulled my hair back over my shoulder to hide the marks, breaking Stefan out of his daze.

'He fed from you?' He asked, concerned.

'Yeah, he collected his debt. It's cool, don't worry about it Stefan.' I said, trying to sound casual as I hoped he wouldn't ask about the other marks that definitely _weren't_ fang marks, thankfully he didn't but I knew he had noticed and he was worried, but it was fine. I had gotten him out of my system, I'd satisfied my craving and now that I'd done that I wouldn't want him again… right?

 **And there's the first chapter of season three! I'm sorry if this one's a bit long and rambley; I tried to fill in as much space as I could to explain how her girts had been developing as well as how they were all developing a reluctant camaraderie.**

 **I would like to say a huge thank you to: ladyby16, Tvdqueen2000 and Shiko-Rae for choosing to either follow or favorite my story; it means a lot!**


	8. The Hybrid

Chapter Eight

'Get ready, love. We leave in half an hour.' Klaus said after knocking on my door long enough to assure that I was awake.

I groaned in response and threw one of my pillows at the door, pulling the spare one over my head. I hadn't slept a _wink_ last night and while I wasn't exactly cheery in the mornings after a good nights sleep, without any shuteye I was _murderous._ As if he could sense this, I heard Klaus chuckle from the other side of my door, I was about to tell him exactly what he could do with his wake up call when his voice cut me off.

'Meet me and Stefan over at the bar when you're ready, love.' He said, his voice abrupt, making me frown. He usually loved teasing me in the morning; my crankiness was hilarious to him, so the fact that he was willingly walking away was a little concerning. The sleepy fog present in my brain was as strong as it had been all night; but no matter how much it tried to lull me into sleep it just kept failing. This happened whenever we slept in a hotel; usually I managed to get at least a few hours but last night I'd been wide awake all night, staring at the ceiling. I wondered if Klaus' presence had something to do with that; I never had trouble sleeping when I was in the car, and when I'd woken up in his arms yesterday I'd felt more refreshed than I ever had, despite getting up at the crack of dawn. That didn't make any sense though, I'd never needed Klaus to sleep before and I didn't need him now, at least that was what I attempted to convince myself.

With an annoyed huff, I pushed the covers away from me and climbed into the shower, sighing in pleasure as the hot water cascaded over my body. I washed my hair, planning to leave it down to dry on its own. Once I was out of the shower and I'd dried my body, I went to the freshly laundered clothes that were folded neatly on my dresser. I already had an idea of what I was going to wear, so I just needed to find what I was looking for. As I was doing this I carefully packed the rest of my clothes into my duffel on the bed as I searched through the pile. I sighed in relief when a pair of my black high waisted shorts came into view, with my light blue crop top; it was supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year today and I planned to dress accordingly. After I'd dressed and made sure I had everything, I made my way out the door and over the road. I went put my bag into the back seat of the truck, seeing as Klaus never bothered to lock it, then I made my way into the bar.

'You look murderous,' Stefan said after his eyes took in my expression, he grinned in amusement when I glared at him in response.

'Are we gonna go?' I said, looking over to Klaus who looked just as amused as Stefan did, 'I don't think he's going to stay dead for much longer.'

'My thoughts exactly, love. Stefan why don't you grab Ray and put him in the trunk of the car.' Klaus said, holding open the bar door, gesturing for me to go first, I gave him a thankful nod but otherwise didn't respond. I got into the car, clicking on my seat belt while I idly wondered if I would be able to get any sleep on the way there.

'How long are we going to be driving for?' I asked Klaus once he'd gotten behind the wheel.

'Not long love, probably twenty minutes, if that. But we do have a few hours of a hike ahead of us though.'

I felt my face drop. A few hours to hike on a good nights sleep? No problem, in fact I would probably enjoy it. But two hours on _no_ sleep? I was fucked, completely and utterly fucked. I slumped down into my seat, avoiding the temptation to cross my arms over my chest and pout like a five year old. I was just going to have to get on with it; it was as simple as that. I stared out of the window, searching for Elena and Jeremy's feelings when all of a sudden my vision was taken over. I gasped, my arm shooting out in Klaus' direction, almost to see if he was actually there. I was a little relieved when my hand touched his arm, but it only quelled the panic a little.

'Klaus,' I said, my voice horrified.

'Love?' Klaus replied, and I could hear as well as feel his concern.

'I can't see. I can't-' I broke off when a string of images took over in my brain; it was like I was somewhere else watching privately from the shadows. I grabbed Klaus' hand and placed it to my face, allowing him into my mind so he could see what I saw.

 _Klaus was standing in the middle of the clearing, a beer bottle in his hand, his arms outstretched with a defeated look on his face._

' _What happened?' Stefan asked, as he threw Ray's dead body on the floor._

' _They're dead,' I said from my place on a rock, not far from where Klaus was standing. None of them could see me, standing at the edge of the trees, watching._

' _Some of them went rabid and killed each other, while the others just bled out.' Klaus said, sounding sad, I noticed myself shift on the rock as if I wanted to reach out and comfort him but I was restraining myself. I knew why when he suddenly exploded a second later._

' _I did everything I was told!' Klaus shouted, sounding pissed, 'I killed a vampire. I killed a werewolf.' He stopped and looked in between Stefan and me, his eyes softening slightly when he met mine, 'I killed a doppelgänger. It should have worked!' I continued to look at him, probably trying to take away some of his frustration, while Stefan avoiding Klaus' eyes, nervous at the mention of Elena._

' _There must be a reason. We'll figure it out.' I said, my voice so low, if he hadn't had supernatural hearing he wouldn't have heard it._

' _Yes, love. We will.' He replied, most of the anger disappearing as he spoke to me and I wondered from my place in the shadows if I had something to do with that._

I gasped as my vision returned and I was suddenly back in the car, with Klaus' hands still gently on my face where I'd placed them. I saw in his eyes that he was concerned with what he had just seen, and so was I. I could feel the worry in my eyes as I looked to his.

'What was that?' I asked him, slightly afraid of the answer.

'Your powers are growing, love. I believe that you've just had a vision. Of the future,' He said, looking to me a somewhat _proud_ expression on his face.

'Does that mean that the pack we are just about to go after is going to…die?' I asked.

'Looks that way, love.' He said, looking devastated, though he was trying to hide it. I placed my hand to the side of his face, my thumb rubbing back and forth comfortingly.

'What do you want to do?' I murmured, mainly to distract myself from wanting to press my lips to his. So much for getting him out of my system; my body was more on fire and craving him more than ever.

'We're going to continue as planned, love.' Klaus said, 'seeing as you've not had a vision before we don't know yet if they're completely accurate.' He tried to turn his face away from mine, but I kept my hand firmly on the side of his face; though if he really wanted to he could have easily turned away.

I could feel the denial coming off him in waves but I could also sense a slither of _fear_ , what surprised me was how much I hated him feeling that way. I knew how much this meant to him and having my vision ruin his plans must have been hard for him to see or believe, which I understood and he did have a point; I'd never had a vision before so there was a possibility that it wouldn't be true. I leaned forward and kissed the cheek that my hand wasn't covering, amplifying the calming waves I was sending in his direction, my lips lingered on his skin for a second too long before I pulled back, looking into his eyes, which were now slightly calmer.

'Okay,' I agreed, knowing that he needed to do this. I reluctantly moved my hand away from his face after a moment and scooted back to my seat, not knowing when I'd made it over next to him. He took a minute to collect himself and I was happy to sense that the fear was gone and most of the denial had simmered down into almost nothing. Stefan walked out of the bar, Ray thrown over his shoulder; he quickly flashed him into the trunk, probably to avoid anyone seeing, before he himself got into the back of the car. We started driving, and for the first time I spent the whole twenty minutes in silence as I focused on Klaus' feelings, assuring that he wasn't letting the anxiety overcome him. I could feel that he was concerned at one point, but I quickly took that away before it could manifest into something else. We arrived at the bottom of the mountains roughly twenty minutes later, and I fought back a groan, wondering how the hell I was going to do this on no sleep and with zero energy. Stefan grabbed Ray, slinging him over his shoulder as he followed Klaus, while I started out walking next to Stefan; within the next hour I had fallen about a hundred yards behind him. My energy was withering into nothing and I was about five minutes away from giving up, planting myself on the nearest rock and telling them to come and get me when it was over. But while the thought of curling up in a ball _was_ tempting I knew I had to keep going. I was so focused on putting one foot in front of another that I didn't realise that Stefan and Klaus had come to a stop until I literally walked right into them. Klaus reached out to steady me, and once he was sure I wasn't going to fall he moved his hands away. I frowned, confused, I glanced around us as if that would give some hint as to why we had come to a sudden stop but there was nothing that explained it, so I looked up to Klaus' amused gaze and asked him.

'Why have we stopped?'

'You look like your struggling, love. Would you like a sip of water? A sit down?' Klaus asked, his tone was filled with mirth but I could see the smallest amount of worry glimmering in his eyes.

'As nice as it is for you to offer, if I sit down I'm not sure I'll get back up,' I answered him honestly. I patted his chest as I made a move to walk ahead of him, ignoring the protests of my muscles, 'we better keep going.' Before I could completely move my hand away from Klaus' chest, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him, the shift in balance almost making me fall on my ass, much to his delight.

'What's wrong love?' He asked, looking into my eyes as if they were going to tell me the answer.

'I didn't sleep last night. At all, so my lack of energy is making me a little slower, sorry,' I said, deciding to answer him honestly, 'but in all fairness, I probably would have been trailing behind you anyway, I'm the only human here,' I murmured, trying to lighten the mood. He smirked slightly, but I could tell he was still worried.

'Stop it,' I said, referring to the worry I could feel coming off him, 'I'm fine,' I went to move away again, but he didn't release his hold on my wrist, but before I could insist for him to release me, I was suddenly swept up off the floor.

'What the hell are you doing?' I asked, trying to sound pissed but that was difficult when by body was overcome with relief at not having to stand up straight anymore. He was holding me against his chest, bridal style, and I would be lying if I said I was uncomfortable.

'Can't have you falling behind, love,' Klaus said, gripping me tighter against him. I could feel the surprise coming off Stefan but at that moment I just didn't care; in his arms I felt calm and _safe._ I know, weird but I couldn't help it if that was the way I felt. I sensed all of the argument draining from me as I melted into his arms, more comfortable there and then than I had been in the hotel bed last night. My eyes fluttered closed and I nuzzled into the crook of his neck my arm grabbing his shoulder for leverage to keep myself there. I heard him chuckle in amusement and that was the last thing I registered before I was out like a light.

Klaus' P.O.V

I heard her breathing even out and I hid my surprise at how fast she had fallen asleep. She must have been exhausted; I had seen it before we started hiking but I knew that she would have to wear herself out a little first before she would even consider letting me carry her. She was stubborn, much like myself and I found it both infuriating and amusing at times. I felt her nuzzle deeper into my neck, inhaling and I smiled at the sensation. For whatever reason this incredible woman wasn't intimidated by me, or scared of me and I liked that she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself, even knowing that I could end her life in less than a second. I never would; not even I could kill her with no remorse, she was so innocent, so pure.

'Let's keep moving, mate.' I said to Stefan, ignoring his shocked face at how tender I was being with Kim, as I moved forward. We could both easily use vampire speed to finish this journey in three minutes flat, but I didn't see the point in rushing; Ray would be dead for at least another hour and if I was honest, Kim looked like she could use the sleep.

'What's going on between you two?' Stefan asked, his tone seeming to be laced with curiosity and worry that he was trying and failing to hide.

I smirked as I looked over to him; he had every right to be worried, he had seen all that I had done, but he didn't know that I would _never_ hurt her. He didn't need to know that either, no one could know because I wouldn't risk her being used as a weakness against me. I couldn't help but let my mind flash back to yesterday though. The way her eyes had darkened lustfully before she'd slammed her lips to mine, the way she'd looked at me when I'd sunk into her, the way she moaned in pleasure, the way her skin felt against mine. I had been with _many_ girls in the past thousand years, but _none_ had ever been anything like _that_. She was incredible. I thought that tasting her once would satisfy my desire to taste her and I would be able to stop sneaking glances at her when she wasn't paying attention, but if anything I wanted her _more_ than I had before. She made me feel a sense of protectiveness whenever she was near, and when I touched her I couldn't help but feel _calm_ and almost _content_ but I pushed that away; I didn't need anyone to make me content I was an Original hybrid that couldn't be killed and I was indestructible, I didn't need anything or anyone else. I felt my eyes harden at my thoughts only to immediately soften when I heard her sigh into my neck.

'I'm not sure what you mean, mate.' I replied, my signature smirk present on my face.

Stefan's worry just grew and I knew that he was biting back a threat, which only served to amuse me more; I had over nine hundred years on him and I could probably kill him in my sleep. Though I couldn't fault the need he felt to protect her, the need that anyone would feel if they were with her long enough to see how protective and how empathetic she was of others. The fact that she could empathise with _me,_ Klaus Mikaelson the man who had killed her sister was unbelievable in itself. I had seen an example of her empathy just over an hour ago, when she'd allowed me into her mind to see her vision. I had been in denial and the slightest bit afraid that I wasn't going to be able to build my hybrid army, but she had taken it all away, allowing me to feel _calm._ If she really hated me, like she _should_ , then she wouldn't care how I felt. While we made the journey here in the car and she had remained silent, I had been concerned for her; I was concerned that she was angry with me for disputing her vision, but when I felt my concern disappear as quickly as I'd felt it I had realised what she was doing. She was focused on me, making sure that I wasn't feeling anything other than the calming waves she kept aiming my way, and when I realised that I felt my heart squeeze reluctantly, as my soft spot for her grew even deeper. A soft spot that had been growing since I'd first laid eyes on her in the history teachers body; it had become massively deeper when she'd told me that I had been her _first._ I still couldn't believe that, I knew she had told me the truth, but she was _exquisite_ and I found the idea of no one before me noticing that ludicrous. I had been about to tell her that before Ray had decided to try and escape and forced me to stop him.

'I think we're close,' I heard Stefan say, his tone still laced with concern, but I ignored it.

'Wonderful,' I said as I stepped forward, making myself visible, they looked confused, eyeing me and the beautiful sleeping girl in my arms, but their expressions immediately became fearful when Stefan walked forward, throwing Ray's dead body to the floor.

'Ray? Oh my god, what happened?' A brunette woman demanded as she fell on her knees next to Ray's dead body, I smirked at her, and she stepped back when she noticed that my eyes were glittering dangerously.

'The important question is who am I. Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Klaus.' I said, grinning when they all retreated a step, I didn't need Kimberly to be conscious to tell me that they were afraid.

'You're the hybrid,' She said.

'You've heard of me. Fantastic,' I smiled, enjoying the fact that they were afraid of me even with a sleeping girl in my arms. I went to hand her to Stefan, knowing that I would need my hands free in a moment if I was going to put the whole pack into transition, but her hands curled around my shirt, holding on tightly as if she knew what I was about to do. She didn't want me to let her go, and I decided that for a little longer, I wouldn't. I didn't need my hands free as I was explaining the benefits of what I was. I sat next to Stefan on a giant rock facing the pack of soon to be hybrids; or soon to be dead hybrids if Kimberly's vision was going to come true. She curled into my chest, inhaling deeply and I unconsciously held her tighter.

'It's fascinating, actually...A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun. A true hybrid.' I said, looking to each of their expressions as I tried to gauge their reactions; their expressions told me they were wary of me but also a little curious. Fantastic. I was about to elaborate when Ray suddenly shot up on the ground, gasping for air.

'Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic.' I murmured, my voice dripping with mirth.

Ray looked a little confused and afraid as he looked around at his pack and then to me, 'what's happening to me?' He asked.

'Stefan?' I prompted, indicating for him to complete the last step of the transformation, seeing as my hands were a little full.

Stefan moved forward, grabbing Ray by the scruff of his collar as he turned him around to face his pack.

'Are any of you human? Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die.' Stefan said, his voice deliberately emotionless.

'Doesn't take much, just a sip. Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?' My eyes travelled over everyone as I sorted through the different scents in the air until I stopped on a man when his human blood overwhelmed me.

'You!' I said, nodding in his direction, Stefan flashed over to him without another word, grabbing him, biting into his forearm and throwing him in front of the transitioning hybrid.

New vampires weren't known for their restraint, so I wasn't surprised when Ray rushed forward, his teeth sinking into the human's arm without another word. Stefan pulled him away after he'd had enough, aware that we would need him for the others. He healed the human with his blood and compelled him to stay calm and to not go anywhere. Ray's condition looked a little discouraging and I felt a ball of concern growing in my gut as my mind went back to Kimberly's vision. I didn't want this to fail, so I refused to acknowledge that there was more than a distinct possibility that that was going to happen. I stood from the rock, carefully placing Kimberly down on it, much to her annoyance; she groaned and tried to hold on to me, making me smile but I was able to get her to release me easily. Once I was completely out of her grip, I turned around, about to address the rest of the werewolves in front of me. But when Kim shot up with a gasp behind me, I twisted around and smirked at her. I waited for her eyes to meet mine before I said anything.

'Afternoon, love. Did you have a nice nap?' I said, amused that she had awoken as soon as I'd let go of her. It made me wonder if my lack of presence was why she hadn't been able to sleep last night. Before I could give it anymore thought, however I was snapped out of my thoughts as she stepped off the rock, glancing around her to gain her bearings.

Kimberly's P.O.V

'Afternoon, love. Did you have a nice nap?' I heard Klaus ask, his voice amused.

I frowned at the sunlight glaring down on me as I pushed myself off the rock, looking around to see where we were. I noticed a dozen people standing behind Klaus, and when I saw Ray awake with blood dripping down his face I figured that this was his pack and Ray had been the demonstration. I winced when their fear suddenly overcame me; I had never experienced this much fear all at once before and I took it all in without even stopping to consider the consequences. Which given the fact that taking two people's fear had virtually given me a panic attack, taking six times that amount was probably _not_ the brightest thing I had ever done.

'Kim?' I heard Stefan and Klaus say at the same time.

I leaned back against the rock, suddenly feeling very weak, 'I'm fine', I said, trying to ignore the fact that my breaths were coming sporadically and I was starting to see black spots in my vision. Klaus didn't look convinced and he came to lean beside me on the rock. I noticed that he was controlling his expression; he looked careless and his body language was casual but I could feel the concern coming off him, instinctively I went to take it not caring that it would probably make me even worse than I already was. I stopped when I felt Klaus' hand on my back, his fingers extending to my waist and squeezing me in warning, knowing exactly what I had planned to do. He moved his hand to splay against my back, his thumb moving back and forth comfortingly. He didn't want any of the others to know what he was doing so I didn't react to him touching me, at least not visually; my heart was beating through my ribcage and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from moaning when I felt his hand over where he had probably left bruises where he had grabbed me passionately the day before.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for my breathing to go back to normal or for my vision to clear. I realized that Klaus was the only one who could calm me down and ground me enough to let me deal with other people's emotions healthily. I didn't have time to ponder why as he stepped away from me, moving forward to address the dozen, now calm, werewolves. I sat back onto the rock, bringing my legs to my chest as I rested my head on my knees.

'Anyway as I was saying…' Klaus started, looking to a woman who was stood more further forward from the rest of the pack, 'It's the new order, sweetheart. You join us, or you die.' He said, and I didn't need to see his expression to know that he was probably grinning maliciously. I knew this was going to end badly, if I hadn't had that vision earlier then I would have known from the feeling of dread cascading over me in that moment, but I knew Klaus needed to see it happen with his own two eyes to believe it.

'I'd rather die than be a vampire,' the woman Klaus was talking to sneered.

'Wrong choice,'' he said, flashing over to her before he bit his wrist, fed her his blood and quickly snapped her neck, 'she'll thank me for that later.'

I rolled my eyes at his arrogance, but otherwise remained silent. He turned to everyone else, smiling in a way that brought out his dimples, 'who's next?' He asked, when no one volunteered he made his way around everyone; completing the same steps he had with the woman. When they were all dead he made his way back to the rock, leaning next to me so close that our arms touched, but in that moment I didn't mind; I was mentally and physically exhausted and for whatever reason his touch comforted me. Though I did resist the urge to lean my head against his shoulder; I was supposed to be keeping my distance, and I'd already screwed that up enough for one day.

'They're dead. They're all dead.' Ray said, I looked around Klaus to see him sitting on the floor, his arms around his knees as he rocked back and forth.

'Ah he's through his transition. He should be feeling better soon.' Klaus said, not answering Ray's ramblings. I frowned and gave him an 'are you sure about that look', which made him give me an 'I don't know' look in return. I felt his indecisiveness flow from him and I took it with a hand to his shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze when I was done before pulling away.

'So this is your plan?' Stefan asked, pulling Klaus' attention away from me, 'build an army of hybrid slaves?'

'No, not slaves. Soldier's, comrades.' Klaus answered, reaching forward to grab a beer bottle before he opened it and took a sip, he offered some to me and I took it gratefully taking a big gulp before handing it back to him.

'For what may I ask?' Stefan said, glancing between the two of us warily, I could feel how uncomfortable he was at how relaxed Klaus and I were with each other. I sent a reassuring wave his way and felt him relax a little.

'Oh, you don't arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan. You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick a fight.' Klaus replied as if the answer was obvious, in all fairness it did make a little sense, but I didn't understand why an invincible hybrid needed protection from anything; Stefan looked like he was wondering the same thing when he replied.

'What makes you think they'll be loyal?'

'Well, it's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team. That's something you'll learn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder.' Klaus responded, taking a gulp of beer before smiling at Stefan knowingly.

'That's why you're, uh...you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?' Stefan asked with a laugh, I looked to Klaus and thought I recognized the same glimmer of recognition in his eyes that I had seen all those months ago before it disappeared again. He looked over to Ray, his hand coming to his face as he forced him to look up to him, his eyes were bleeding and I felt as well as saw Klaus' concern as it overcame him. I took it before it had a chance to grow and I noticed him send me an unreadable look before he replied to Stefan.

'You'll know why I'm keeping you around when I've decided that I want you to know.' Klaus said, his voice final, indicating that he didn't want Stefan to continue to question him. He turned back to Ray, his frown deepening, 'something's wrong.'

'That shouldn't be happening should it?' Stefan murmured, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the crimson tears running down Ray's face.

'Well obviously.' Klaus replied, his tone hinting at his frustration.

I looked at Ray and noticed he was shivering, but when I tried to focus on his emotions I came up blank; he wasn't feeling anything.

'You said I was going to feel better. Why don't I feel better?' Ray asked.

'Some master race,' Stefan said his tone snarky, I gave him a warning look, knowing better than to aggravate Klaus right now.

'Lose the attitude.' Klaus said, his tone one of warning before he looked over to the first woman he had killed as she woke up, he looked over to the human who was stood to the side waiting for his orders, 'come on. Feed your girlfriend.' Klaus murmured gesturing to the confused woman on the floor.

I make a move to go to Ray, feeling a sudden rush of pain coming from him, when he suddenly jumped up off the floor making a move to attack me, Stefan pulled him back just in time, throwing him to the floor. I took Ray's pain, holding on to the rock for support as my body suddenly felt as if it was on fire, but even when his pain was gone, he didn't calm down. Stefan tried to restrain him, but Ray managed to escape from his grasp after biting his forearm. Klaus looked at Ray's retreating figure with an unreadable look before he sent a look to Stefan.

'Go and get him,' He said, pointing in the direction that Ray had ran in.

A feeling of dread washed over me as soon as the words left his mouth and I felt myself making my way over to Stefan instinctively. I searched out for people's feelings around me and had to bite back a gasp when someone familiar felt close. _Very_ close.

'I should go too.' I said, moving to walk behind Stefan, but before I took a step Klaus was suddenly in front of me. He looked at me as if to say 'you're not going anywhere' and I looked at him as if to say 'I'm going whether you like it or not, buddy'. Which apparently wasn't as intimidating as I thought because he just chuckled and shook his head.

'Look, I have a bad feeling about Stefan going on his own. You don't need me here, and I'd probably be safer with him anyway if all of them wake up and want to attack me as well.' I said, crossing my arms over my chest giving him a look that clearly said 'you know I'm right. Now move.' After giving me a reluctant nod he moved out of the way, I moved to step past him but he grabbed my elbow, halting me to a stop. I looked to him, confused before I noticed him looking at me as if to say 'be careful'; I gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand before walking away.

I made it to Stefan's side on the edge of the clearing and he grabbed me and threw me onto his back as he flashed away, I assumed he was following Ray's scent. Once we stopped and he let me off his back I looked to Stefan, allowing the worry to surface on my expression.

'Elena is here,' I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

'What?' He said, worried.

'She's close, Stefan. I can feel her. I'm pretty sure she's with Ric and Damon. They're getting close. We need to get them out of here before Klaus-' I'm cut off when we hear a man screaming in pain, I realized it was Ray when I couldn't feel the pain coming from Damon or Ric. Stefan froze; I assumed he was listening to the conversation. He suddenly grabbed me again, vamping to the direction of the noise. I noticed when Stefan put me down that it had gone dark, and I wondered how long we had been up in the mountains for.

'Nice, doggie.' I heard Damon say, and I looked over to my left to see Damon trying to calm what looked like a feral Ray. The hybrid moved forward to attack Damon but before he could, Stefan rushed forward, ripping out his heart.

'Well, fancy meeting you here,' Damon said, looking to Stefan with a sarcastic smile on his face, when his eyes moved to mine he looked a little relieved, 'oh good, you're still alive.'

'Why wouldn't I be?' I said, crossing my arms over my chest as I made my way to stand by Stefan.

'I thought one of the two psychos you're travelling with would have eaten you as a midnight snack by now,' Damon muttered and I just rolled my eyes and smirked.

'What part of stop following us got lost in translation Damon?' Stefan asked, sounding pissed.

'Not me. Blame your little girlfriend and your sister. Won't give up on you,' Damon said, his words making my heart squeeze painfully.

'Well tell her that if she keeps looking for us she'd going to get us all killed. If Klaus finds out that we lied about her being alive, he's not exactly going to be forgiving is he?' I said.

'I have told her that, do you think she listens to me? That girl is stubborn!' Damon said, his voice seeping with frustration.

Despite everything it made me smile; Elena was almost as stubborn as me.

'She's not gonna give up on you. Either of you,' Damon murmured, his voice sounding firm.

'Well make her.' I said.

'She has to.' Stefan agreed, 'because we're never coming back. Why don't you get her home? See if you could keep her there this time.' Stefan threw Ray's body over his shoulder before grabbed me, flashing away after he had finished speaking.

We arrived back at the clearing and I moved over to the rock that Klaus was closest to; as I looked around I realized with a start that my vision had come true. Klaus looked over to me as he heard me and gave me a nod; I could feel the emotions coming from him. He was angry, frustrated, confused but most of all he felt crushed. I hated it and I took everything, bringing my legs up to my chest as I rested my head in between my knees as I breathed through each emotion as it happened. I could feel Klaus' gratefulness, but before I could take his anger, Stefan spoke.

'What happened?' Stefan asked, as he threw Ray's body onto the floor.

'They're dead,' I said from my place on a rock, trying to keep the pain from my voice as I started to take Klaus' anger, but it got more difficult the angrier he got about the fact that his plan hadn't worked.

'Some of them went rabid and killed each other, while the others just bled out.' Klaus said, sounding sad, I lifted my head, seeing as well as feeling his sadness, I wanted to move forward and comfort him, but I felt the anger growing and knew he was going to explode so I stayed put.

'I did everything I was told!' Klaus shouted, sounding pissed, 'I killed a vampire. I killed a werewolf.' He stopped and looked in between Stefan and me, his eyes softening slightly when he met mine, 'I killed a doppelgänger. It should have worked!' I looked to him, absorbing his anger as fast as I could, feeling relieved when I took that which was remaining, and none grew to take its place.

'There must be a reason. We'll figure it out.' I said, my voice so low, if he hadn't had supernatural hearing he wouldn't have heard it. I just hoped that Elena dying wasn't the key to him making more hybrids; she deserved to be free from this and live a normal life.

'Yes, love. We will.' He replied, the anger gone from his voice, his eyes were soft as he looked at me, but when he looked to Stefan he looked amused.

'You look like hell,' Klaus said, smirking; I could tell he'd mistaken Stefan's discomfort at the mention of Elena for pain from the werewolf bite on his arm.

'Well last I checked I was dying.' Stefan muttered, looking to Klaus who was staring at Ray's dead body, Stefan looked worried but I wasn't; I knew he was going to heal him so I stayed silent.

'I had to take him out. I didn't have a choice. I failed you. I'm sorry. Do what you have to do.' Stefan said, his voice laced with fear.

Klaus turned away, picking up an empty beer bottle from the floor, 'it should have worked.' He said, biting into his wrist and holding it over the beer bottle for a moment before he handed it to Stefan.

'Bottoms up. We're leaving.' Klaus said, waiting for Stefan to finish drinking before he continued, looking in between the two of us, 'It appears you're the only comrades I have left.' He said, somewhat sadly, and I sent a comforting wave his way before I stood from the rock to follow him. I noticed his shoulders relaxed a little, but otherwise he didn't respond.

'Where are we going?' I asked when I was sure I wouldn't aggravate him.

He stopped, waiting for me to catch up to him, before he looked to me with a small smile on his face, 'Chicago, love. And if you thought ten hours in a car was bad, you're in for a rude awakening.' He smirked and nudged my arm playfully. I laughed at him and shook my head, though I wasn't looking forward to being cramped in a car for more than ten hours, it was nice to see him joking around with how defeated he had been minutes before. I knew I shouldn't care how he felt but I did, and honestly I refused to question why; I was afraid of the answer.

After a few minutes of walking, Klaus grew impatient and pulled me onto his back before instructing Stefan to flash to the car. We made it a few minutes later, and I wondered why we didn't just do that in the first place. I opened the passenger door with an exhausted sigh; it had been a long day and I just wanted to sleep. With any luck I'd sleep through most of the journey and I wouldn't have to suffer boredom for more than a few hours. I climbed inside, slamming my door shut as I prepared to fall asleep, but I could feel the twanging in my brain like I had last night; like I was missing something. I looked over to Klaus; I could feel the uncertainty in my eyes, as I realized what I needed to fall asleep. I'm not sure what made me act so assertively, whether it was my body demanding sleep, or whether I was just too frustrated to fear rejection, but whatever it was, I leaned on my side curling my legs to my chest as I rested my head on Klaus' lap. I felt calmer immediately and the twanging in my brain quieted down, I sighed happily, finally feeling relaxed. I felt Klaus stiffen in surprise for a moment before he relaxed as well; the last thing I registered was him softly running his hands through my hair, lulling me to sleep even faster.

 **There's another chapter! I really enjoyed writing this one, I didn't want anything to change between the characters after they'd had sex, at least not anything they noticed; Stefan noticed how familiar they were with each other (if you picked up on that) but otherwise they are oblivious. I enjoyed writing Klaus' P.O.V for this chapter as well; I wanted to give everyone an insight to his feelings towards Kim, knowing he isn't the type to make it obvious. You will notice that now they have slept together, Kim's need for Klaus' touch and presence has grown… what could this mean? Let me know what you think; leave a review, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **I would like to say a huge thank you to: Kittegal2000 and Melanina for choosing to either follow or favorite my story- it means a lot!**

 _ **Geminigurl89: Kim and Klaus are so ridiculously hot together!**_ **Thank you, I think so too ;)**


	9. The End of The Affair

Chapter Nine

I sighed in relief when the car finally came to a stop. We had gotten into Chicago roughly fifteen minutes ago, but Klaus had evidently had a particular spot in mind and that spot was apparently an old warehouse. I frowned but made no further move to comment as I stepped out of the car, stretching my muscles, moaning when I hear a few of my bones crack. I looked to the other side of the car to see Stefan and Klaus staring at me strangely and I rolled my eyes.

'It may be a long time since you two had to experience tense muscles, so I'll forgive you for not knowing how uncomfortable it is.' I said, looking in between the two of them, I lifted my index finger, wagging it from side to side as I continued, 'that was ridiculous even for you.' I muttered, my tone annoyed as I referred to the seventeen hours we had spend in a car without a break.

Klaus just smirked as he walked forward, motioning for Stefan and me to follow, which we did.

'You slept for most of the way, love.' Klaus reminded me as he walked into the warehouse, I felt myself walk a little faster so that I was closer to Klaus; this place was creepy, he rose his brow in amusement as I fell into step beside him.

'That was still too long to spend in a car. I'm human, I deserve bathroom breaks. And food- I haven't eaten anything since…' I trailed off, genuinely having trouble remembering the last time I had eaten anything, 'well I can't even remember.'

'Forgive me, love. I'll start to take your needs into consideration,' Klaus replied, his voice teasing.

I rolled my eyes and huffed in frustration; I could tell he wasn't taking me seriously and it pissed me off.

'What are we doing here anyway? You can't tell me we drove all the way out here just to visit a creepy warehouse?' I asked, starting to get freaked out the further forward we walked. Klaus came to an abrupt stop and turned around to grin to Stefan.

'Welcome back to Chicago, Stefan.' Klaus said, smiling his arms outstretched as he gestured to the room around him. I could feel Stefan's surprise coming from him as he stared at Klaus, and then the room we were currently standing in, probably trying to recognise it seeing as Klaus was making it pretty clear that he should.

'What are we doing here?' Stefan asked, seeming more confused the more Klaus' smile grew.

'You're up to something,' I said, my tone accusing as I stared at Klaus' conniving expression.

'Clever girl.' Klaus said, giving me a wink before he turned back to Stefan, 'I know how much you loved it here. Is it bringing back memories of the good old ripper days?' Klaus murmured, and I saw the glimmer of recognition in his eyes for the third time. But before I could call him out on it, he squeezed my waist gently, in warning, before releasing me. I ignored the tingles originating from my waist and turned to frown at him.

'I don't really remember most of it.' Stefan said, and I could feel that he was in fact telling the truth.

'That's a shame, the memories are a huge chunk of the fun.' Klaus said, his eyes glittering dangerously.

I rolled my eyes and released a little scoff. I could feel Klaus glaring at me, but I refused to acknowledge him; his elaborate schemes were really starting to piss me off. I knew there was something about Stefan he was hiding; the way he had been behaving made it clear that Klaus had been a part of his past in some way, and I just wished he'd come right out and tell Stefan how he had known him rather than dancing around it. I could tell that doing this, dropping hints in Stefan's direction was his way of enjoying himself; if I didn't have my 'gift' and I couldn't feel the amusement coming off him whenever he teased Stefan, I still would have been able to notice it.

'Just come out and say it already, there's obviously something that you know.' I said, still refusing to look at him, but I could feel that Stefan wanted to ask the same thing.

'Now, love. Don't be impatient.' Klaus said, his tone dripping with warning; he didn't want me to ruin his fun.

'Whatever. I'm going to go and find something to eat while you two reminisce about the good old days. Find me when you're done.' I muttered, not looking in Klaus' direction as I left, but I did squeeze Stefan's hand, amplifying the comforting waves I was sending his way before I went. I was almost out of the door before I realised something; I didn't have any money. Granted, I had been with two supernatural beings all summer, so I hadn't really found the need for money, seeing as they could compel themselves and me whatever we needed. But I didn't have that luxury; with a sigh I walked towards the car, and opened the drivers seat reaching for where Klaus usually kept his wallet. He didn't usually carry it around with him, seeing as he rarely had to pay for anything.

I let out a sigh of relief when I found it, underneath his seat, which in my opinion wasn't the most creative place to hide a wallet but I put his lack of creativity down to his arrogance. I opened the black leather, pulling out his credit card as well as the notes he had in the back. I didn't count how much was there, I was too focused on actually getting some food before Klaus lost interest in Stefan and went off in a tantrum about me wondering off without his permission. I didn't feel guilty about taking his money; he was the one who was supposed to be feeding me, so the way I saw it he should have to pay for my food, that and the fact that I was angry with him at the moment may have made it a little easier. I wondered off down the street, not having a clue where I was going, but I was relieved when I turned a corner into what looked like the town centre. I looked around, wondering where I should go, when my eye caught the illuminated red sign that read 'Gloria's bar' I shrugged and figured that would be a good place to eat as any. Without another thought, I crossed the road, after making sure that I wasn't about to be knocked down by any vehicles, and pulled open the door smiling when I smelt the undeniable aroma of whiskey. I noticed a tall African- American woman standing behind the bar; she was wearing a grey vest top and dark skinny jeans. Her hair was shaved, leaving about an inch of grey hair covering her skull. I smiled and made my way over her, taking a seat at the bar.

'Do you serve food?' I asked, once she had finished serving one of the customers.

'We sure do, honey. What would you like?' She asked, gesturing to the chalkboard behind her with a limited amount of food written on it. I looked it over, torn between a few things until I shrugged and decided to get them both; I wasn't paying after all, and he hadn't bothered to feed me.

'I'll have a double cheese burger, two portions of fries and some mac and cheese, with a diet coke please.' I said, giving her a big smile.

She looked me over, probably trying to decide whether all of the food was for me, after a while she gave me a nod, passing me my Diet Coke before moving back to the kitchen to put in my order. I moved over to a booth and made myself comfortable, deciding that I'd need the room once my food eventually got there. Seeing as I was a little bored, and there weren't that many people in the bar, meaning I couldn't take up one of my favourite hobbies- people watching, I pulled out my phone, scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, careful not to like anything, I was so focused in my scrolling that I nearly threw my phone across the room when my phone buzzed with a text. Once I'd recovered from the shock, I pulled open my messages to see a text from Klaus, which made me frown, seeing as I didn't recall putting his number in my phone.

 _Klaus: Where have you gotten to, love?_

 _Me: I'm sorry. Who is this, and how did you get this number?_

 _Klaus: Very funny, love. I'm hoping for your sake that you haven't gone very far._

 _Me: Me? Run away from the psychotic hybrid when he's having a temper tantrum? I would never!_

 _Klaus: I do not have temper tantrums. Now I will not ask again, where are you?_

 _Me: You're a big bad Original Hybrid. I'm sure you can figure it out._

 _Klaus: Love…_

 _Me: Geez. Has anyone ever told you that you need to watch your temper?_

He didn't respond after that, and when I searched out, I could feel that he was close and he was _pissed._ For whatever reason though I wasn't worried, instead I thanked the woman from behind the bar when she placed my food in front of me with a huge smile. As soon as I smelled the different aromas of food in front of me, I felt my mouth water; I could feel the shock from the woman behind the bar when she noticed that I had eaten every last bit not twenty minutes later. I grinned at her and passed her a hundred dollar bill, telling her to keep the change, which caused her to grin at me. I made my way over to the bar and ordered a whiskey, hiding my relief when she didn't ask for I.D. as I pulled out my phone, deciding to text Klaus.

 _Me: Okay. My stomach's full now. You can come and get me. I'm at Gloria's Bar._

I heard a phone chime behind me as soon as I hit send, and I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. I wanted to take it, but I figured that would just piss him off more as soon as he realised what I was doing. I turned around slowly, giving him a sheepish smile when I saw his thunderous expression. My eyes flickered to Stefan and I noticed his worry, but honestly I wasn't worried in the slightest; but I was a little amused.

'Took you long enough,' I commented, breaking through the silence, I took a sip of my drink and then held it out to him, 'whiskey?' I asked, my voice innocent.

Klaus stared at me for a long moment before he reached forward and took the drink from my hand; his hand lingered on mine for a moment before he downed the whiskey. I could feel his anger disappear and that was when I realised that he had been using anger to mask his worry, my eyes snapped to his when I grasped this, and the concern shimmering in his eyes was unmistakeable before his mask snapped back into place, his expression now unreadable. I discretely squeezed his hand, allowing myself to send him some reassurance before I reluctantly pulled away. I looked over to Stefan and noticed his shock at how quickly Klaus had calmed down, but I refused to meet his eyes, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

'So… did you two finish your reminiscing?' I asked when Klaus took a seat beside me while Stefan sat on my other side.

'Not really, seeing as I can't remember most of my life during that time.' Stefan said, and then something seemed to click at the back of my mind, I turned to Klaus and gave him a pointed look. He just smirked at me and rolled his eyes, amused that I seemed to have figured out why Stefan seemed to have trouble remembering his past in Chicago.

'Well, maybe Klaus can help you with that.' I muttered under my breath, I felt Stefan stare at the side of my head questioningly before his gaze moved to Klaus, who in that moment was squeezing my thigh in warning. I sighed and gestured for another drink, handing over Klaus' card as I asked her to open up a tab. She gave me a warm smile before she complied.

'Where did you get a card from?' Klaus asked, his tone suspicious.

I turned to him and gave him my best innocent smile that I knew he wasn't believing for one second, 'I found it.' I said, grinning when Klaus' expression lit up in realisation.

'You took my card?' He asked, sounding a mixture of amused and annoyed.

'Well if you didn't want anyone to steal your wallet you should come up with a better hiding place,' I said as I reached for the fresh whiskey in front of me, 'underneath the drivers seat isn't the most creative place I must say.'

Klaus' jaw dropped in shock, while Stefan burst out laughing next to me. I just grinned before I downed my whiskey and gestured for another. Klaus managed to gather himself and ordered the same.

'So, I doubt we came all this way to drink' I said, looking to Klaus with my brow raised in question.

He smirked as he responded, 'nothing gets past you does it love?'

'Nope' I said, starting to feel the affects of the alcohol and I knew I needed to slow down if I didn't want to embarrass myself. I decided to finish my current drink before I switched over to soft drinks.

'You're actually in the right place,' Klaus said.

I frowned as I looked over to him, 'what are you rambling about now? Has anyone ever told you that you ramble? Because you do. Often.' I said, poking his chest and nearly falling of my stool in the process. Yep, definitely needed to slow down.

'I didn't know you were such a light weight, love,' Klaus said, his tone amused.

'There's plenty you don't know about me Klaus.' I muttered, my speech slurred.

'I suppose that's true.' Klaus said, though the way he was watching me made me think that he didn't like that.

'Anyway, what did you mean Klaus?' Stefan said, perking up from the other side of me.

'This is exactly where I was planning to come,' Klaus replied, gesturing to the woman who had been serving me all day from behind the bar, 'Gloria here is my favourite witch and I believe she can give me some answers as to why my hybrids are failing.'

'Gloria,' I said, pointing to the woman behind the bar as my drunken brain slowly put the pieces together, 'as in Gloria's bar! You know, that's clever.'

Gloria laughed at my drunken ramblings as she looked over to Klaus, 'she's cute.'

Klaus just hummed in agreement before Gloria continued, 'I didn't know she was yours, though with the power coming from her, I should have guessed.'

I shot up from my slumped position on the bar as I pointed at Gloria once more, this time accusingly, 'you mean you know what I am?'

'Of course I do, sugar.' Gloria said, smirking at me.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to be threatening, but I frowned when she looked like she was trying not to laugh. I looked over to Klaus and Stefan, confused that she wasn't cowering under my intimidating glare only to notice they were both smirking. What the hell?

'Love, you're not the best at interrogating,' Klaus said as he bit back a laugh.

I turned to Stefan, hoping that he would back me up but he just held his hands up as he released a genuine laugh; a laugh I hadn't heard in months. I gave him a soft smile as I turned back to Klaus.

'Well then fine, I'll leave the interrogating to the master,' I said, nudging his arm in a 'go for it' gesture. He just looked to Gloria and raised his brows, and that was all it took.

'You're a hybrid. Part Prophet, part Empath, and you're strong too. Your powers will develop even further the more you connect with them.' She said, her tone a matter of fact.

I just stared at her with my mouth hanging open; I had wanted answers to what I was for _months_ and now I had them, but the trouble was I didn't know how to react, what to do. I didn't even know what either of those things were. Gloria seemed to notice this as she opened her mouth to elaborate.

'Empaths are beings that can read and experience people's feelings and emotions, which I'm sure you've realised by now. This particular gift means that you cannot only take certain emptions away from people, but you can project other ones onto them as well, which, if they don't know what you are can be very useful. Prophets are beings that have visions of the future; they are known to be the most trustworthy and accurate of all fortune-tellers. Prophets are also known for their good instincts and protective nature. Your hybrid nature means that your gifts interlink, making your predictions and instincts even more accurate. In other words, anyone would be an idiot to go against your word.' Gloria finished.

I turned to Klaus, my head felt like it was going to explode with all of this information. No one else in my family was magical, so the fact that I was meant that I most likely came from a different family, I remembered that Elena was adopted, and I knew that I had to be too; that was the only way that _any_ of this would make any sense. I was snapped out of my thoughts when Klaus placed his hand over mine, squeezing gently, bringing a sense of calm over my body. I gave him a grateful smile as I squeezed his hand back before releasing him. I looked back up to Gloria, a question on the tip of my tongue but I stopped when I saw the way she was looking in between Klaus and me. I realised that our friendship might have looked strange to her, but when I focused I could feel the comprehension pouring from her.

'What? You have this look like you just realised something?' I said, trying to keep my voice light, I felt Klaus looking to her as well and noticed him straighten up and lean forward from the corner of my eye.

'I could be wrong. It's very rare and I've only seen it a handful of times…' Gloria started, looking between the two of us almost nervously.

'Spit it out, love. We have a long list of things to get to today so please, hurry along.' Klaus said, his tone threatening.

'Well, I can _sense_ the connection between the two of you, and for me to be able to sense it, it means it's strong. A connection of this strength means that you two are meant for each other. You're mates.' Gloria trailed off, her tone a matter of fact and when I focused, I felt the honesty coming from her.

I felt myself frown, not understanding, I looked over to Klaus and we shared a look, both of us clearly thinking the same thing; she was crazy. I nodded in agreement and Klaus turned back to Gloria, probably about to threaten her to stop blabbering such nonsense, but before he could she carried on talking.

'I've seen the strength of your connection several times since you've walked in this bar alone. You two can have a conversation without speaking, just one touch from him calms you down and comforts you, though it can just as easily drive you crazy.' Gloria said, looking between the two of us and she must have seen our disbelief because she turned to Stefan, 'have you noticed anything like that?'

We both turned to Stefan, wanting to hear his answer, he was looking between us both, his expression apprehensive but I could feel him decide to settle on the truth.

'Yes. Plenty of times. You always have trouble sleeping when we stay in a hotel, and yet whenever we're in the car you sleep soundly, although lately you seem to have to be touching him in someway. You're in tuned to her feelings; you know exactly what she needs when she needs it, without her having to ask. If I didn't know better I'd say you'd been together for years.' Stefan admitted, though I could see the worry over the things he had noticed this summer.

My head was pounding even more than it had been before; I mean being a hybrid was one thing but being told that meant for Klaus Mikaelson was another. I looked over to Klaus and noticed that his expression was guarded; he didn't know what to think about this information either. I could feel that a part of him didn't believe it but there was another part of him that saw the truth behind it.

'What does it mean?' I asked Gloria, curiously.

'Well from what I've heard there are several steps to solidifying your bond. They have to be done during sex. You might have noticed that you both find the allure of each other's blood irresistible, which is because one of the steps is feeding from each other during intercourse. The second step being the marks made from this won't heal completely, you'll scar and you will forever be marked as belonging to one another.' Gloria said, noting my raised eyebrows before she continued, 'once you do this your bond will be unbreakable, you will be attuned to each others feelings and pain, being able to know what the other is thinking or if they are in trouble no matter how far away from one another you are. You will be drawn to each other constantly, more so than you already are, and you won't feel completely whole or content unless you are together.'

I could feel my mouth hanging open in complete shock. Was she serious? I refused to focus on her feelings at that point, not knowing what I would do if I felt honestly coming from her instead of deceit. Could she be telling the truth? I mean I wasn't going to deny my attraction to Klaus, but that was all it was wasn't it? Before I could ponder it any further I was snapped out of my thoughts by Klaus' voice and he sounded _furious_ , I inhaled sharply when I felt the waves coming from him. I went to take it, but I had taken no more than a smidge when his eyes cut to mine, glaring in warning, I raised my hands defensively and took the hint.

'I don't know who you're trying to kid, but you spout anymore nonsense and I will happily tear out your liver.' Klaus said, his expression murderous.

I shook my head and sighed at his antics. I didn't like what she was saying either, but that didn't mean I was about to start spewing off threats to her. I was 'meant for' this guy, seriously?

'Klaus, maybe we should just focus on the hybrid problem,' I said, wanting to reach out and touch him, but honestly I didn't know how he would react to me in that moment, so I restrained myself. Klaus happily reverted back to the original reason as to why we had come here.

'What am I doing wrong? I broke the curse.' Klaus said, leaning forward to snag a bottle of Jack Daniels from behind the bar, he filled up his glass and then offered the bottle to me; I took it gratefully, filling my glass before setting the bottle in between us.

'Obviously you did something wrong. Look, every spell has a loophole, but a curse that old... we'd have to contact the witch who created it.' Gloria said and I felt Klaus' displeasure at her words.

'That would be the Original witch, and she's very dead.' Klaus gritted out, obvious hatred coming from him, I supposed it made sense that he would hate her seeing as she was the one who had placed the curse on him in the first place.

'I know, and if you want me to contact her, I'll need help. Bring me Rebekah.' Gloria said, her voice assertive, but when I focused on her feelings I could sense the deceit coming from her. _What was she up to?_

'Rebekah… she's a bit preoccupied.' Klaus said with a smirk, almost as if he had an inside joke with himself.

'She has what I need. Bring her to me and I'll get you your answers.' Gloria said, her voice firm.

I was about to ask her why she was so sure Rebekah (who ever that was) would have her answers when Stefan came up in between me an Klaus, slamming something down onto the bar. I frowned when I felt his confusion and anger. I leaned forward to see what had made him feel this way and realized that it was a picture; a picture of Klaus and Stefan with another striking blonde woman, who seemed to share some genetic similarities with Klaus; they were similar around the eyes and I was idly wondering if they were related when Stefan's shouting cut through my thoughts.

'What is this?' Stefan demanded.

'I told you, Stefan. Chicago's a magical place,' Klaus smirked as he sipped on his whiskey.

'But this is me, with you.' Stefan replied, pointing to them both in the picture that was still resting on the bar. Klaus didn't respond; he downed his whiskey and took his card back from Gloria as he made his way out of the bar. I gave Stefan a reassuring smile as we followed after him. We got into a cab and when we pulled up in front of what looked like _another_ abandoned warehouse I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

'Do you have a thing for abandoned warehouses or something?' I asked, fighting a grin when he gave me a mock glare.

'Abandoned warehouses are a good place to keep things you'd rather not be found, love.' Klaus said as he walked forward, not bothering to see if Stefan and me were following, which we were. Stefan started to question Klaus as we stepped over the threshold of the warehouse; I could feel his anxiety radiating from him and I took it little by little so that he wouldn't notice what I was doing.

'This doesn't make sense. Why don't I remember you?' Stefan asked, his voice much calmer.

'You said it yourself; your memory has some dark holes,' Klaus replied, as he continued to walk forward to the only lit up area in the warehouse.

'No, if you knew me, then why haven't you said anything?' Stefan wondered.

'I'm a little busy right now. Memory lane will have to wait.' Klaus responded, his tone dismissive as he walked up to one of the few coffins in the room, lifting the lid, revealing the woman who had been with Klaus and Stefan in the picture. She was beautiful and my theory of them being related was then confirmed seeing as the only other person I knew about Klaus dragging around in a coffin was his brother. I assumed that Rebekah was his sister. Klaus smiled at her fondly as he gently caressed the side of her face before abruptly pulling the dagger from her.

'I don't recognise her,' Stefan said, his brow furrowed as if he was trying to push himself to remember her.

'Well don't tell her that. Her temper is worse than mine.' Klaus smirked, his eyes flickering to Stefan before he looked back to Rebekah his expression becoming impatient, 'time to wake up, little sister. Any time today Rebekah.'

I snorted, 'from what I remember it takes a little longer than thirty seconds for an Original to wake up after having the dagger removed.' I said.

'She's being dramatic,' Klaus said to Stefan, ignoring my comment, making me roll my eyes in annoyance.

'Look, why don't you just tell me what the hell is going on? I mean, you obviously want me here for a reason, right?' Stefan said, irritation clouding his tone.

'Well, you do have many useful talents.' Klaus admitted, looking to Stefan with admiration.

'I do?' Stefan asked.

'Indeed. In fact, I learned some of my favourite tricks from you.' Klaus said, going on to tell a story of Stefan forcing a man to drink his wife's blood, the whole thing made my stomach curdle as I imagined it happening. As we walked out of the warehouse, Klaus stopped when he noticed a man standing by the door. He was wearing a uniform, so I assumed he worked here, doing what I didn't know.

'When she wakes up, tell her to meet us at Gloria's bar. Then volunteer your carotid artery and let her feed until you die,' Klaus compelled him. I had to bite my tongue from saying something to him, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. I did however take away the poor man's confusion and terror before we left, sending him a semblance of calm in hope that it would help.

'Where are we going?' Stefan asked when he noticed that Klaus was walking purposefully.

'We were friends once, Stefan. You trusted me with your secrets and now I'm going to prove it to you.' Klaus responded, not looking back, I could feel my own curiosity growing as Stefan and I trailed behind Klaus.

'How?' Stefan murmured.

'We're going to your old apartment,' Klaus answered.

I felt Stefan's surprise as we continued to follow him and I idly wondered if this would be a good thing for him as I was thinking it over though, I felt myself gasp at the ball of dread growing in my stomach. Knowing it was similar to what had happened in the mountains, I felt out for Elena and winced when I realized that she was _close_.

'Are you okay, love?' Klaus asked.

'Peachy,' I replied, trying to act normal; I knew I wasn't fooling him, but he didn't press me.

We reached Stefan's apartment a few minutes later and I could feel that Elena was inside before we even opened the door. I tried to keep my breathing even; knowing that if Klaus heard my raising heart beat he would be even more suspicious. I wanted to alert Stefan somehow but I couldn't communicate that his girlfriend was hiding in his old apartment through a look. Klaus twisted the handle and threw open the door, allowing Stefan to walk in first. I trailed behind last and felt my eyes go over to the corner of the room, where Elena's panic was coming from. I bit my lip as I took her panic, sending calming waves as a replacement. I didn't want her elevated heart beat to give her away.

'Do you feel that? Someone's been here.' Klaus said, and I held my breath to stop myself from reacting.

'This place has been vacant for decades; people probably break in all the time. Why'd you bring me here?' Stefan asked, as he glanced around the room, probably overcome with memories.

'When you made Liam Grant drink his wife's blood, I never could figure out why you asked for his name. But eventually you trusted me with your secret; it was all a part of your little ritual.' Klaus said as he made his way over to the closet that Elena was inside of, he opened the door and gestured for Stefan to look.

'To write it down.' Stefan said as he walked forward.

'And to relive the kill, over and over again.' Klaus said with a smirk as Stefan made his way fully inside of the closet. I felt his shock, and I knew that he had noticed Elena. His shock was quickly replaced with longing and love, and I felt my heart break a little for them both; they deserved to be together. I had to force myself to stay where I was, even though every part of me wanted to rush over and take her in my arms; I'd missed my little sister so much.

'Look what I found,' Stefan suddenly said, I felt Elena's worry, but I knew she had nothing to be concerned about. Stefan walked out with a bottle of alcohol, '1918, single malt.'

'My favorite.' Klaus said, taking the bottle from Stefan as he started to walk towards the door, 'let's go find someone to pair it with.'

I wrinkled my nose, 'just the alcohol for me thanks.' I muttered sarcastically, making Klaus chuckle. I felt Elena's surprise followed by her pain as she heard my voice and I quickly took it, sending calming waves to her once more. With a sigh, I followed Stefan and Klaus out of the apartment, wanting nothing more than to turn back.

Once they had both fed we made our way back to Gloria's bar. She handed Stefan and Klaus a beer and went to give me the same but I just held up my hand and requested a Diet Coke instead, deciding I'd had enough alcohol for one day.

'Where's Rebekah?' Gloria asked.

'She'll be here. I can't just conjure her on demand.' Klaus replied, taking a sip of his beer. I could feel the worry coming from him; he was scared that Rebekah wasn't going to come, I sent him a wave of reassurance without thinking, and noticed his eyes glimmer in thanks before he looked over to Stefan who was sat on the other side of me.

'What's with you? I thought Chicago was your playground.' Klaus said.

'Is that why you brought me along with you? Because you liked the way I tortured innocent people?' Stefan muttered, his eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out Klaus' agenda.

'Well that was certainly half of it,' Klaus agreed, putting his feet up on the bar and crossing his legs.

'What's the other half?' Stefan asked.

'The other half is that you used to _want_ to be my wingman,' Klaus said simply, before telling Stefan about the time that they had talked about his family calling him an abomination. Stefan had insisted that they were jealous because they couldn't be what he was: a king. I could feel how much that meant to him as well as Stefan's confusion that only seemed to be growing.

'So I'm confused. If we were such great friends, why do I only know you as the hybrid dick who sacrificed my girlfriend on an altar of fire?' Stefan asked, his tone demanding.

'That's a good question.' I said, sipping my coke as I waited for Klaus' answer.

'All good things must come to an end.' Klaus murmured as he stared at his beer bottle; I could feel the sadness coming from him before I took it and sent him a wave of comfort. I felt him look at me but I avoided his gaze, trying to act innocent.

'You compelled me to forget?' Stefan muttered after a while, putting the pieces together.

'It was time for Rebekah and I to move on. Better to have a clean slate.' Klaus said, but I could tell that there was another reason.

'Why would you need to do that? Unless you were running from someone.' Stefan said suddenly, I felt Klaus' concern rise from beside me and I cut in before he could.

'That's quite a leap Stefan.' I said, wondering why I felt the need to defend Klaus.

'Story time's over.' Klaus said, his tone one of warning. Stefan sighed in annoyance, but I felt a jolt of fear come from him and I turned to see what was wrong. I noticed he was staring out of the window and saw Damon standing outside, gesturing for me and Stefan to join him. I shook my head a little, knowing that both of us couldn't leave at the same time without arousing suspicion. I discreetly nudged Stefan, knowing he would be able to get out of here easier than me.

'I need a drink. A real one.' Stefan said, walking out of the door without waiting for a response from Klaus. I realized when the door closed that he had left me alone with Klaus… _again._ I huffed in annoyance, but I couldn't ignore the little ball of anxiety in my gut; the last time I'd been left alone with him we'd had sex in a bar's bathroom. I bit by lip and tried to fight the wave of desire that washed over me as I remembered how incredible it had been.

'So…' I said, trying to make conversation, I looked over to him, meeting his eyes, which was a mistake. I could see the hunger shining in his captivating blue eyes; hunger that I knew without a doubt was reflected in mine. He leaned forward placing his hand on my thigh sliding it up slowly, provocatively, towards where I was beginning throb; my eyes fluttered shut from the pleasure of having his skin on mine. With a shiver, my eyes snapped open and I could feel them darken lustfully. His gaze was fixed on mine, his hunger was evident, but like before, he was leaving what happened up to me. I leaned closer to him and that was all the encouragement he needed, he pulled me forward and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. My lips moved behind his ear, kissing him, before I took his earlobe into my mouth and tugged with my teeth. I felt his growl vibrate against my chest and I found myself squirming in anticipation. When I pulled back from him I vaguely registered that we were no longer in the bar, but we were once again in a bathroom.

I smirked at him when I noticed this, which he returned briefly before his lips went to my neck. I realized he had me pinned against the wall, not that I cared; all I could think about was his lips on my skin. He made his way across the crook of my neck, nipping and sucking softly, the sensation making me moan in pleasure. My hands tangled in his hair, roughly pulling him back, he growled warningly, but I paid him no attention as I smashed his lips to mine. I moaned when I felt him reach underneath my bra and crop top as he palmed and gently massaged my breasts. My gasp of surprise allowed him the access to deepen the kiss and I moaned as his tongue and mine fought for dominance, a battle that he quickly won. I reached down, pulling back for long enough to grip his shirt and lift it up over his head. He grinned at me a little before he brought his lips back to mine, I found myself delighting in the kiss, my need for him growing by the second. I allowed my hands to glide over his chest, loving the feel of his skin underneath mine. I grinded my hips against his as I allowed my nails to scratch him lightly. He growled in approval as he moved back to rid me of my crop top and bra in one go. He moved forward, his lips moving from my jaw all the way down to my breasts, nipping and sucking as he went. I could hear myself whimpering in anticipation, and when I felt him smirk against me more than once I knew he was enjoying how much I wanted him.

He took my left breast into his mouth abruptly, sucking as well as moving his tongue back and forth tauntingly, the action made my back arch at the pleasure that travelled through my body. I could feel the throbbing between my legs growing and I knew that I needed him _now._ I reached down, my hands going to his belt buckle, but he grabbed both of my wrists in one of his hands as he secured them both above my head. He pulled back from my chest, the loss of contact making me whimper, as he smirked at me.

'Patience, love.' Klaus murmured, his voice seductive as he brought his lips back to mine. I moaned against his mouth when his other hand slipped underneath my shorts and panties, palming my core. I tried to move my hips to gain some kind of friction, but he had me pinned between him and the wall too tightly, leaving me no room for movement. His lips moved from my mouth to my cheek as he kissed his way to my earlobe before took it in between his teeth and he tugged gently, his hand moving downwards as he slipped one of his fingers inside me. I had been so worked up that it didn't take him long to get me to fall apart around him with a moan. I felt him ridding me of my shorts and panties before he filled me in one swift movement. The abruptness of the action made me moan deeply in my throat, I wanted to tangle my hands in his hair, but it was then I realized that my hands were still pinned to the wall. I was about to demand to be released until I felt him start to move.

'Jesus Christ.' I muttered as my eyes fluttered shut from how good he felt inside of me.

Klaus growled in agreement as his hips started moving back and forth faster and harsher. He was fucking me hard and fast against the wall and I loved every moment of it. At some point he released my hands as he brought both of his hands to my waist to keep me in place enough so that his hips met mine with more force, making my moans come faster. I reached up to move my hair from the side of my neck and gently ushered his face to the crook of my neck, and he didn't hesitate when he understood what I wanted. I felt his fangs gently pierce my neck and I screamed out when the pleasure coursing throughout my body reached its boiling point and I fell over the edge calling Klaus' name. I felt Klaus growl in approval as he continued to drink from me until he reached his climax not long after, I felt him pull back from my neck and lick the holes now in place before he rested his forehead against mine as we both tried to get our breath back. Once we did we shared a grin and he softly, almost tenderly kissed me before pulling back and carefully placing me on the ground. I start to look around for my clothes, frowning when I can't see them anywhere. I looked over to Klaus, about to ask him where he had thrown them only to frown when I noticed he was already dressed.

'Where the hell are my clothes?' I asked, looking around again, still not seeing them anywhere on the floor.

I heard Klaus chuckle and looked over to him questioningly, only to see him holding my shorts and top in one hand with my panties and bra in the other. I held my hands out to him giving him a 'hand them over' look. He simply grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye and I knew he was about to piss me off.

'Klaus…' I trailed off warningly.

'Yes, love?' He said, his tone innocent, he tried to make his expression innocent as well, but he failed miserably. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing; I didn't want to encourage him.

'Can I have my clothes, please?'

'I think I prefer you like this.' He responded, his eyes darkening as he trailed over my body, I felt my body break out in goose bumps as if I could _feel_ him touching me with his gaze.

'Well I don't think the rest of Chicago will. Now give!' I said, my tone more demanding. He sighed like a child who was being forced to hand over his favorite toy, but he complied. I sighed in relief as I quickly dressed, sending him a glare when I was finished.

'You're an ass.' I accused as I opened the bathroom door to make my way back to the bar.

He smirked and held his hands up defensively and I felt my lips curl up into a small smile, despite my best efforts. I could feel the smugness coming from him and I was about to retort but I was cut off when I noticed Stefan sat back at the bar, looking miserable and slightly uncomfortable.

'Why so glum, mate?' Klaus asked, brightly, smirking when Stefan's expression seemed to become more miserable.

Stefan didn't answer but I could feel the judgment rolling off him and I responded before I thought about it.

'Stop that.' I said, narrowing my eyes at Stefan, he looked a little taken aback and I rolled my eyes in annoyance, 'I can feel the judgment radiating from you. Pack it in. I've refrained from judging you with all the stories I've heard about you all summer, so I'd appreciate the same courtesy.'

Stefan nodded in understanding before giving me an apologetic smile. I patted his shoulder to let him know all was well before I took a seat next to him at the bar. I could feel Klaus' anger toward Stefan and I sent him a reassuring wave to let him know that it was fine. In fact, Stefan's reaction was nothing compared to what everyone else would have said if they'd found out exactly how intimate Klaus and myself had been.

'Come on, we should go and check on Rebekah's rate of recovery.' Klaus muttered, making his way to the door. We followed behind him silently, as he hailed a cab and gave the address. It didn't take us long to get there, and soon I found myself trailing behind Klaus as we went further into the warehouse; he had told Stefan to wait outside until he called for him to come in. I winced when I felt anger coming from somewhere I couldn't pinpoint. I was glancing around trying to locate it when all of a sudden a rush of blonde hair came out of nowhere and stabbed Klaus in the chest with a dagger. I bit back my concern, knowing that the dagger wouldn't affect him.

'Go to hell, Nik' Rebekah said, looking down to Klaus with a sneer. I felt her anger grow when Klaus smirked at her, moving to pull the dagger from his chest. I took Rebekah's anger as I leaned against the wall out of the way of their sibling spat.

'Oh come on, don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me.' Klaus said, his voice smug, causing me to roll my eyes and tut at him in disapproval. He didn't respond to me, but Rebekah did meet my eyes with a grateful smile before she turned back to her brother.

'No, but I was hoping it would hurt more.' Rebekah gritted out, but her tone lacked conviction as I managed to take the last bit of anger from her.

'I know you're upset, so I'll let that slide just this once. I brought you a gift as a peace offering.' Klaus said, smiling to her. She turned to me her vampire face coming forward.

'Excuse you. He doesn't mean me, sweetheart. By the looks of it you're perfectly full,' I said, gesturing to the corpse on the floor by her coffin.

She looked at me strangely, before she turned back to Klaus, but before she could ask him what was going on he shouted for Stefan to come in. When he did, I could feel the joy coming from Rebekah and it made me smile a little. But it was a little sad when Stefan didn't recognize her. Klaus stepped forward then, compelling him to remember and once he did, Stefan took a few moments to gather himself, as his mind was flooded with memories. He looked in between the two of them, recognition shining on his face.

Klaus and Rebekah smiled at him when Stefan murmured, 'we were friends.'

'We _are_ friends.' Klaus said before he turned back to Rebekah, 'now for the reason you're here. I'm told you know how to contact the original witch.'

I shook my head at him, still leaning against the wall.

'The Original witch?' Rebekah asked, her hand going to her neck, I could feel her panic when her hands came into contact with nothing.

'What do you have that Gloria needs?' Klaus asked.

'Where's my necklace? What did you do with it Nik? I never take it off!' Rebekah screeched, her panic growing as she searched her coffin and came up empty.

'Tell me that's not what she needs!' Klaus shouted, 'tell me that's not what she needs, Rebekah!'

I pushed off from the wall and stepped in between Klaus and Rebekah.

'Shouting isn't going to get you anywhere.' I said, taking his anger before I turned to Rebekah and placed a hand on her shoulder, amplifying the comforting waves I was sending towards her, hoping to dim the panic I could feel radiating from her.

'Are you all right?' I asked her, and she looked to me frowning as if she was trying to figure out who I was or what I was doing there. When I gave her a small, reassuring smile she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. I could feel her sobbing into my neck, and I kept sending comforting waves towards her, hoping it was helping at least a little. A few moments later, she calmed down and pulled back from me, wiping under her eyes, looking a little embarrassed; I squeezed her hand in response, silently telling her there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

'I'm Rebekah,' she said, holding out her hand to me.

I took it with a bright smile, 'I'm Kim.' I let go of her hand and linked my arm through hers; I just _knew_ we were going to be great friends. I could feel Klaus' curiosity and amazement coming from him as well as Stefan's shock but I just ignored them both as me and Rebekah walked forward, out of the warehouse and into the night, leaving the brooding males in their own company for the time being.

 **That's chapter nine for you! I loved this chapter, and I hope that I explained Kimberly's gifts in a way that wasn't too confusing. I hope that the added information of her and Klaus being meant for each other wasn't too much either, but that information needed to be in this chapter as well because it needed to come from Gloria. This might explain their behaviour towards one another a little better as well. As you can tell it's going to take Klaus and Kim a while to accept what Gloria said about them, and it's going to take Kim a while to realize just how powerful her gifts can be. I really enjoyed bringing Kim and Rebekah together in this chapter, and I can't wait to write the next one, to allow their friendship to blossom. Let me know what you think!**

 **Would like to say a huge thank you to XxSunnaxX for giving my story a favorite and a follow- it means a lot!**

 _ **Geminigurl89: Great chapter! It was really interesting to see Klaus' point of view.**_ **Thank you! I enjoyed writing it.**


	10. Disturbing Behaviour

Chapter Ten

'Sorry' I apologised as I accidently bumped into someone in the busy street. That was one of the things I hated about cities; people always seemed to be rushing to get somewhere.

'Why do you keep apologising? They are the ones not looking where they are going.' Rebekah said from my right, her arm linked through mine.

We were walking to meet Klaus and Stefan at a clothes shop for Rebekah; Klaus had tried to make us leave with him earlier, but much to my amusement, Rebekah told him to sod off and we would meet him in our own time. Surprisingly he had complied, despite the anger and frustration coming from him. We had gotten dressed afterwards with Rebekah borrowing some of my clothes; she wasn't impressed that the only options seemed to be shorts or jeans with a vest top or crop top, hence the shopping trip. That, and my wardrobe wouldn't sustain us both for very long; it only lasted me a week before it had to be laundered.

'Force of habit.' I replied with a shrug, tucking my hair behind my ears. I had decided on my black high waisted shorts again today seeing as it seemed to be even hotter in the city; I'd paired them with my black Vans and pink crop top that had a lace hemline, which I had worn at Rebekah's request as she wanted us to match. She was wearing the exact same outfit as me, except she had my Converse on and she was wearing the same version as my crop top, but in blue. I was wearing my pink suede jacket, while she was wearing my grey one. Someone else walked into my shoulder, jerking me to the side, pulling me out of my thoughts.

'Watch where you're going!' I snapped, my patience finally wearing out; I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night so I was a _little_ sensitive.

'There you go, it's good to stick up for yourself.' Rebekah said, squeezing the arm hers was linked through gently. I almost snapped at her, but I stopped myself, knowing that she meant well.

We reached the address that Klaus had sent to my phone a few minutes later, though I did convince Rebekah to stop for some Starbucks on the way, mainly because I needed the caffeine. I ordered her a chocolate chip Frappuccino, figuring she'd like it since she'd mentioned how much she loved chocolate last night. I got myself a caramel late, and I had to bite back a moan of pleasure when I took my first sip. Delicious. Rebekah seemed to approve of her drink as well, seeing as she drank half of it in one gulp.

'Took you long enough.' Klaus muttered as soon as we stepped into the shop; himself and Stefan were sat on the red velvet sofas provided well on their way to finishing a bottle of champagne between them.

I rolled my eyes as we walked forward in their direction, 'quit moaning, we're here aren't we?' I asked as I made my way over to the spare long sofa, once Rebekah had let go of my arm as she went in search for some clothing.

Klaus just glared at me and I noticed he was genuinely irritable, making me frown.

'What's with you? You can't be that pissed off that we took an extra twenty minutes to get ready.' I said, studying his expression; I noticed that his under eyes were darker than usual.

'Nah I'm pretty sure he's been grumpy since he opened his eyes this morning.' Stefan commented, earning himself a glare from Klaus and a snort of amusement from me.

'I didn't sleep very well last night.' Klaus eventually said, his tone still annoyed.

'Join the club,' I murmured, holding up my coffee before I balanced it on my stomach, 'glad to know I'm not the only one who gets pissy with no sleep.'

'I am not-,' he stopped when I cut him off with a 'who are you trying to kid' look. I couldn't help but laugh at his clear crankiness when he glared at me.

'Tit for tat, Mikaelson, this is usually the other way around.' I said, referring to his endless amusement whenever I was tired from lack of sleep, 'though I'm sure you can still have your fun when this wears off.' I held up my coffee cup, closing my eyes to savour the taste as I took another swallow.

'You two bicker like an old married couple,' Rebekah commented from the dressing room, making Klaus and I look away from each other, suddenly uncomfortable, while Stefan laughed in amusement.

I glared at him, and out of the corner of my eye I knew Klaus was doing the same; Stefan held his hands up defensively before he picked up his glass and downed the little that was left in the flute. I settled down into the long sofa I was currently laying on, strategically drinking my coffee without spilling it all over myself. We lapsed into a comfortable silence, the only sounds being made were us gulping down our drinks. I sighed in annoyance when I swallowed my last gulp of coffee, placing the empty cup on the table before I lay back down again. I made myself sit up almost immediately; knowing I'd only get irritated at not being able to fall asleep. I was about to open my mouth to try and make some conversation to keep myself awake when Rebekah came out of the changing room and cut me off.

'There's got to be more of this dress.' She said, shocked.

'There isn't,' Klaus and I said at the same time.

Rebekah looked like she was going to make another comment about mine and Klaus' behaviour, but I interrupted her before she could.

'You look hot.' I told her honestly; she was wearing a black dress that cut off half way down her thighs, showing off her flawless legs. She gave me a bright smile in thanks before she turned to Stefan for his opinion.

'What do you think, Stefan?' She asked.

'It's nice.' He said, his tone unconvincing as he filled up his glass with the champagne, Klaus and me shared an amused look before we turned back to Rebekah for her response.

'I know when you're lying Stefan,' She stated, raising her eyebrow in disapproval.

I laughed at Stefan's expression as I took the bottle of champagne Klaus was holding out to me. I filled up the spare glass on the table before I handed it back to him.

'What is this music anyway? It sounds like a car accident,' Rebekah commented, her nose wrinkling in distaste.

'I'm not much for it either, it's not even music it's just a bunch of banging.' I murmured, noting Rebekah nodded in agreement.

'It's dance music.' Stefan said.

'People dance to this? How?' Rebekah asked, and if I hadn't been focused on tuning out people's feelings due to my exhaustion, I'm sure I would have felt her confusion.

'Yeah, Stefan how? Give Rebekah a demonstration,' I said gesturing to the only open space that would have allowed for any kind of dance movement.

Klaus chuckled at my comment and I joined in when Stefan glared at me and reached over to shove my shoulder. Rebekah rolled her eyes at all of us before she went back into the dressing room to change into a different outfit.

'Well… I'm bored.' I stated looking around the room for something to do.

'Yeah… I'm going to get some fresh air.' Stefan said, standing up to leave.

'I'm guessing that's code for getting a bite to eat. You don't need to use euphemisms, Stefan! We're all friends here,' I shouted after him laughing when he didn't respond, I looked down to my glass, noticing it was empty.

I heard Klaus chuckle and I met his gaze, my expression confused.

'What are you chuckling at?' I asked.

'I think you've had enough, love.' Klaus said, holding the champagne bottle away from me when I went to reach for it.

I frowned and I could feel my nose wrinkle in annoyance, 'I think _I_ can decide when I've had enough thank you very much.' I went to reach for the bottle again but he moved it out of my grasp in the last second, making me almost face-plant the table.

'Listen here, buddy. I want more champagne.' I insisted, holding my hand out to him, as if that would work.

He smirked and shook his head, reaching to pour _himself_ another drink. I huffed and tutted to show my annoyance, before I walked over towards the till and swiped myself another bottle from behind it. I turned towards him and held it up giving him a victorious smirk. He laughed at my actions and shook his head again this time in amusement. I abandoned the long sofa I had been sitting on and moved to sit on the couch he was occupying because it was more comfortable for me to sit up on; the long sofa was better built for laying down or slouching. I sat down and threw my feet carelessly on his lap as my back leaned against the arm of the chair. I was relieved to see that the top of the champagne was open as I took a drink directly from the bottle, as I swallowed I noticed that the room was spinning and I groaned.

'Ugh. Maybe I have had enough.' I muttered, closing my eyes in the hope that it would stop the room from rotating. I held out the bottle to Klaus, 'keep that away from me, if I have anymore I'm going to be sick.'

'Ah, love I'm a little disappointed that you can't hold your alcohol.' Klaus replied, his tone teasing. I flipped him off, but otherwise didn't respond as I kept my eyes closed and tried to fight off the growing nausea. Klaus rested one of his hands on my calf, running it up and down almost comfortingly, which I appreciated; his touch sent a wave of tranquillity throughout my body.

'If you keep doing that I'm going to fall asleep.' I muttered, my voice already drowsy. He hummed in agreement and a moment later I heard his breathing even out, in the back of my mind I realised with a jolt of surprise that he himself had fallen asleep but I couldn't consider it for more than a moment before the darkness consumed me as well.

'Nik! Kim!' I jolted, blinking myself awake. I looked over to my left to see Rebekah looking both surprised and annoyed. I went to ask her what was wrong when I realised that my whole body felt very _warm._ I looked down and saw that my legs were still thrown over Klaus' lap but the whole upper half of his body had fallen to lie between me and the couch, with one of his hands underneath my head and the other over my waist, holding me to him while his head rested on my chest. My hands had some how gotten tangled in his hair as I held his head to my chest, once I realised this I held them up in a 'it wasn't me' gesture which made Rebekah roll her eyes. I frowned when I realised that Klaus hadn't moved an inch… there was no way that I'd woken up before the one with supernatural hearing right?

'Is he still asleep or pretending?' I said as I looked over to Rebekah, 'I genuinely can't tell.'

'He's still asleep. If he's in a deep enough sleep he could sleep through a storm, supernatural hearing or not.' She replied, looking to Klaus as she shook her head in amusement. As if to prove her point, Klaus nuzzled deeper into me as he pulled me tighter against him, almost as if to make sure I was still there, once he was satisfied he sighed somewhat happily. I could feel the emotions inside me stirring, wanting to break free, but I knew that while he was holding me I wouldn't be able to focus on anything but the peace he brought over me.

'Okay so… how do we wake him up?' I said, trying not to stare at his peaceful expression for too long.

Rebekah grinned mischievously before she flashed forward and kicked Klaus in the stomach hard enough to jolt the sofa we were on back a few feet. He grunted a little but otherwise didn't respond, I looked up to her and noticed her surprise. She was looking between Klaus and me with a look of curiosity on her face.

'Now what?' I asked, amused.

'If that didn't work I don't know what will, honestly.' Rebekah huffed, crossing her arms over her chest to show her annoyance.

'So what? We just wait for him to wake up on his own? That could be all day!' I said, my tone one of disbelief.

'Sweetheart, I just kicked him in the gut with all of my vampire strength and he's still asleep. Do you have a better suggestion?' She asked, raising her eyebrows challengingly.

I snorted, noting her point. Seeing as I didn't have vampire strength I decided to go with the same technique I'd use on Elena and sometimes Jeremy when they wouldn't wake up for school; I put my index finger in my mouth and put it in his ear, wriggling it around.

'What on earth are you-' Rebekah started but she was cut off my Klaus abruptly sitting up, rubbing at his ear whilst glaring at me.

'Sorry, we had to resort to drastic measures.' I joked holding up my hands in surrender.

He just carried on glaring at me, but moved on to Rebekah when she started to giggle. I looked over at her too, noticing that her laugh had a mischievous edge to it. I observed that she was holding her phone, the one that Klaus had given her at some point, and I shared a panicked look with Klaus before we both stood up, walking in her direction.

'Rebekah… what did you do?' I asked.

'Well you two were just so cute and seeing as Kim was nice enough to teach me how to use the camera on my phone last night, I couldn't help but take a picture.' She said, grinning devilishly.

I laughed, genuinely amused; I looked over to Klaus and noticed he looked _murderous_ which ironically made me laugh harder.

'Rebekah, sweetheart, give me the phone.' Klaus demanded.

'Ah, ah, ah. Come any closer and I'll send this to everyone we know.' Rebekah warned.

'Can I see it?' I asked, curious. Rebekah's eyes studied my expression for a moment before she pulled me to her side and showed me the picture on the phone. She must have been kneeling on the floor beside us when she took it, because you could clearly see Klaus' peaceful face as it rested against my chest, as well as the way that he was holding me; you could unmistakably see my hands tangled in his hear as well as my face that was leaning to the side, facing the back of the sofa, my expression just as peaceful.

'Who knew you two were so adorable?' Rebekah murmured as she smiled softly at the picture, for the first time that day I focused on someone's emotions and noted that Rebekah was genuinely happy to see Klaus looking so serene. I rolled my eyes at her statement but otherwise said nothing. I went back to the couch I had been sleeping on, leaving the Originals to argue amongst themselves.

'Give me the phone Rebekah.' Klaus demanded, his voice verging on the edge of shouting.

'No, Nik. I'm going to hold onto it until I find it useful.' She said, smirking at him.

'Oooo blackmail. I like it,' I said sending her a wink; she smiled at me before she met her brothers gaze again. I could feel that she didn't mean any harm, but she was genuinely amused by her brothers reaction; and he was _definitely_ angry, I didn't need my empathetic abilities to tell me that.

'Anyway… now that Rebekah's wardrobe is sorted maybe we should go and check in with that witch.' I said, trying to change the subject. I knew that neither of them were going to give in and I wouldn't have been surprised if they started to throw furniture around as things got more heated. Klaus took a long moment to continue glaring at Rebekah before he nodded and turned away from her, walking out of the door I was holding open.

'No manners,' I said to Rebekah, rolling my eyes in mock annoyance as I gestured to Klaus' retreating figure. She laughed lightly as she linked her arm through mine and dragged me behind Klaus who was walking far too fast for me to keep up when all of a sudden my vision went black, much like it had a few days ago.

'Ugh, Klaus.' I said, trying to remain calm despite the fact that I _couldn't see_ , I knew he still heard the slight panic in my voice though because he answered me straight away.

'Yes, love?' He asked and I could feel his fingers touch underneath my chin, calming me a little as he tried to meet my gaze but I felt his realisation when he noticed that I couldn't see him.

'Nik? What's happening?' Rebekah asked, sounding and feeling worried, 'Kim, are you all right?'

I opened my mouth to answer but before I could images clouded my brain, taking me somewhere else.

 _I was stood behind the bar at Gloria's and I looked up with a start to see that future me was following behind Klaus as he walked into Gloria's bar. He looked amused at whatever I had said before we had walked in, and he had opened his mouth to say something to me but I cut him off as I looked around the bar and noticed it was empty._

' _Where is everyone?' I asked, confused._

 _Klaus looked away from me and took in the environment, noticing the absence of the particular person he had come there for. He flashed away from me, I assumed to check the rest of the premises while I stayed where I was, probably knowing that he would cover the whole ground before I could even take a step._

 _Sure enough he returned not ten seconds later looking murderous._

' _I'll take it by your expression and the rage flowing from you, Gloria's not here?' I asked, looking concerned with his reaction._

' _That would be correct, love.' He responded, barely controlling the rage in his tone, and I could tell that he was doing that for my benefit._

' _Well… how does it go- there are plenty of witches in the sea, right?' I joked, trying to lighten his mood a little, and by some miracle I noticed a small genuine smile on his face for a second before it was gone again._

' _We need to find another witch immediately.' Klaus said, lifting me to his chest as he flashed away without another moment's hesitation._

I gasped as I returned to the present, noticing that Klaus has both of his hands to my face, most likely to see what I had been seeing. I could feel his concern and I went to take it but he gave me a warning look. I rolled my eyes but complied.

'What the bloody hell just happened?' Rebekah demanded, also concerned, I squeezed the hand that was still linked through my arm as I amplified the comforting waves I was sending towards her, ignoring Klaus' disapproving glare.

'I just had a vision, of Gloria fleeing apparently.' I replied, noticing the rage that was starting to grow in Klaus' eyes.

'Well at least we're prepared.' Rebekah muttered, sounding pissed.

'Can we stop her?' I asked, looking between the two of them, which was difficult seeing as Klaus was still basically holding my face.

'No, love you're a Prophet so your vision will come true one way or another. But I will prepare another witch to save us some time. For now lets see if Gloria can actually get us any information before she flees.' Klaus said, gently moving his hands from my face as he started walking again, determination and anger flowing from him.

Rebekah and I shared a look as we trailed behind him, 'shit is going to hit the fan.' I muttered, laughing when Rebekah looked taken aback by what I said. We made it to Gloria's about ten minutes later and I noticed the tension as soon as we walked in; I kept focused on Klaus to make sure his anger didn't reach detrimental levels while Gloria worked. She was chanting, waving her hands over a grey stone bowl with candles lit around her. So far it didn't look like she was having any luck. I was sat at the bar in between Rebekah and Klaus who were sat on stools either side of me. Klaus was hogging a bottle of whiskey to himself, getting angrier by the second, though I had been taking it little by little and so far he hadn't noticed yet; I assumed it was because of the booze. Rebekah and myself were getting increasingly bored. I was about to ask about a food break when Stefan walked into the bar; I could feel the deception coming from him and I tensed, wondering what he was up to. The problem was I couldn't just come out and ask him, and I didn't see us being left alone long enough to get information, but I couldn't stop my worry; this wasn't going to end well.

'I can't find it,' Gloria suddenly said, looking up from the bowl she was standing over.

Klaus and I shared a look as we both rolled our eyes, unsurprised.

'So use me. I only wore it for a thousand years.' Rebekah said, jumping from her stool and walking over to Gloria. Gloria took her hand and began chanting again.

'That was a long time to be gone for some fresh air.' I said, studying his expression as if it would tell me what he was up to.

'Yeah sorry, retail therapy was making my head explode,' Stefan said, feigning annoyance.

'Tell me about it.' Klaus muttered, feigning his own annoyance. I gave him a look and he gave me one back, warning me to keep my mouth shut. Apparently anyone knowing that the big bad hybrid liked to cuddle was a bad thing.

'So… she's looking for the necklace, huh?' Stefan asked, his expression suggested curiosity but I could feel his nervousness and I frowned at him, confused. Why wouldn't he want Klaus to find the necklace? His eyes flickered to Klaus and when he noticed that he was staring into his whiskey glass he mouthed something to me, three words that made my blood run cold: _It's Elena's necklace._ I felt my eyes widen in alarm and my whole body froze, making Klaus look up to me, seeing as I had been swinging my legs back and forth as they were hanging off the bar. I quickly recovered and continued; glad when he didn't question my behaviour even though he had clearly noticed that something was amiss. I looked over to Gloria and swallowed nervously when she stopped chanting and started speaking.

'I found it.' Gloria said, her eyes flickering between Stefan and me before her gaze settled on Klaus.

'Where is it, then?' Klaus asked, his expression hard.

'It doesn't work like that, doll. I only get images; there's a girl with her friends.' She said, I could feel her curiosity when her eyes flickered over to Stefan and me again and I wondered what else she had seen.

'A dead girl with dead friends if I don't get my necklace back.' Rebekah said, her lip jutting out, clearly upset about her lost necklace.

'To get a better location, I'm going to need some time. You're harshing my ju ju.' Gloria said, looking nervous when Klaus and I shared a look.

'Come on, we'll go and get a drink. I'll let you chose who we eat.' Stefan said walking over to Klaus and patting him on the back. I could tell that Stefan wanted Klaus away form Gloria, and honestly in that moment so did I.

'I'm not hungry, I ate before we came out,' Rebekah said, referring to the maid she'd had a bite out of on the way here; she didn't kill her which I believe was for my benefit which I was grateful for.

'Then you can go with Kim for a meal. She hasn't eaten since yesterday.' Stefan said, giving me a look to agree, which wasn't necessary because as if on cue my stomach rumbled.

Rebekah didn't look happy with that and I could tell that she wanted to spend some time with Stefan so I said I'd grab something from a street vendor and wait around while they fed, and that was how I found myself at the end of an alley way, trying to look casual as possible while I ate a huge slice of cheese pizza I'd gotten from a man on the way here. I had insisted on staying at the end of the alley because I had been able to take the victim's fear from where I was, and I didn't have to witness anything that may ruin my appetite. Though I had to force myself to eat; I had a ball of dread growing in my gut and what made it worse was that I didn't know whom the dread was for- Klaus finding out about Elena or Gloria fleeing?

But I knew that despite the relationship I had developed with Klaus and even Rebekah, I had to look out for Elena. She was my baby sister and I knew that if Klaus found out that she was still alive he would kill her, thinking that the fact she was still breathing was the reason for his inability to make hybrids. But I _knew_ the fact that Elena was alive wasn't the problem, the only trouble with that was he wouldn't believe me, he'd just think I was trying to protect her. Which was a fair point- I'd tell him that killing her wasn't the answer even if it was, if that meant she would live.

Though I had decided that I was going to protect Elena, which was never a decision really, I couldn't help but feel like I was _betraying_ Klaus. Which was ridiculous, right? He had killed my sister, it may not have been permanent but as far as he was aware she was dead. I may have had sex with him a few times, and we may have developed a weird friendship, but that didn't mean I owed him anything. We had sex because we were attracted to each other and we got along because we had been around each other every day for three months- you were bound to learn someone's moods and senses of humour after spending that much time together, it was just a given. And I knew if this was the other way around and he needed to protect his sister, he would do it without blinking. But I also knew that Klaus was vengeful and didn't act kindly to those who betrayed him, so he wouldn't see me lying to him about Elena being dead as me protecting my family, he would see it as an act of betrayal. He would be pissed, but I had to look out for my baby sister. She was a part of the reason I agreed to this whole thing in the first place, to make sure he stayed away from mystic falls and away from Elena. The other was of course to make sure Damon got the cure so he wouldn't die from the toxic werewolf bite he had acquired when he was trying to play hero.

'You ready, love?' Klaus asked, making me jump; I'd been lost in my thoughts.

'Yeah. Where is everyone?' I questioned, noticing that he was alone.

'Stefan went to go and write a name on a wall,' Klaus started to explain as he walked forward, knowing I would follow, 'Rebekah went to wait in the warehouse.'

'Okay… so am I to assume that we are going to the bar?' I said, walking faster so I was by his side, he looked at me sideways and nodded, 'so you mean we could be walking in to find that she's gone?' I asked.

'No, love. We'll be walking in to find that she _is_ gone.'

'I still don't get the point of this. Couldn't you have said something earlier to make it less probable?' I said, crossing my arms over my chest to fight off the cold.

'If I had the outcome would have been the same. Gloria said it herself; anyone would be an idiot to go against your visions or your instincts. Ironic, really seeing as she inadvertently told us to believe that she was going to betray us.'

I snorted causing him to smirk, 'you know I'm a little disappointed. She made a good mac and cheese, you think she'll leave the recipe behind?' I joked as we turned the corner that the bar was on. He laughed at me, and pulled open the door still smiling. He opened his mouth, probably about to tease me but I cut him off when I noticed the bar was empty.

'Where is everyone?' I asked, although I already knew the answer; my vision was coming true.

Klaus looked away from me and took in the environment, noticing the absence of the particular person he had come there for. He flashed away from me, I assumed to check the rest of the premises while I stayed where I was, probably knowing that he would cover the whole ground before I could even take a step.

Sure enough he returned not ten seconds later looking murderous; knowing it was going to happen didn't mean he would be any less angry I supposed.

'I'll take it by your expression and the rage flowing from you, Gloria's not here?' I asked, looking concerned but I was also unsurprised.

'That would be correct, love.' He responded, barely controlling the rage in his tone, and I could tell that he was doing that for my benefit.

'Well… how does it go- there are plenty of witches in the sea, right?' I joked, trying to lighten his mood a little, and by some miracle I noticed a small genuine smile on his face for a second before it was gone again.

'We need to find another witch immediately.' Klaus said, lifting me to his chest as he flashed away without another moment's hesitation.

We arrived at the warehouse literally a minute later, and Klaus managed to place me gently on the ground, despite the anger that was still rolling from him. I looked over to Stefan and Rebekah and noted the tension in the air. Klaus apparently didn't, however and started to demand that everyone get ready to move so that we could find another witch. Stefan didn't seem surprised when Klaus announced that Gloria had fled, which made me think he had something to do with it. That wasn't what was worrying me in that moment, though; I was more concerned with the fact that Rebekah was radiating suspicion towards Stefan. Klaus finally calmed down enough to notice something was wrong, and as soon as he asked Rebekah jumped up from her seat next to Stefan to stand beside Klaus.

'He's not with us, Nik. I can sense it, he kept asking about Mikael.' She said, glaring at Stefan.

'Who the hell is Mikael?' I asked, completely confused, Klaus looked over to me, studying my expression and I could feel him decide that I was genuinely confused, which I was. What the hell was going on?

'She's wrong, Klaus…' Stefan started but Klaus had already made up his mind and he rushed towards Stefan and snapped his neck. The sound made me wince, but I wasn't surprised; like I said Klaus didn't take betrayal well and he trusted his sister more than he did us, and why wouldn't he? She was family.

'Are you going to snap my neck too?' I asked, cautiously.

'No love, but we are leaving.' Klaus said gesturing toward the giant truck that people were now loading the coffins into. I got in without complaint, knowing he would just force me if I didn't. I ended up in between the two siblings as Klaus drove; we were literally squished together, and I knew that despite everything I would probably be asleep soon due to the affect Klaus had over me. Despite the fact that he had just snapped Stefan's neck and we were on our way god knows where, his touch made me feel calm enough to feel drowsy and I hated it. Before I knew it my head was resting on his shoulder and I was asleep before Klaus' chuckle at my behaviour died out.

When I woke up, my head was still resting against Klaus' shoulder and I realised that the reason I had woken up was because he was gently shaking my shoulder.

'Where are we?' I asked, I tried to look out of the window but I had at some point been moved to the back of the truck, so there weren't any windows. I noticed Stefan was lying dead on the floor over by one of the coffins while I was sat with my back leaning against the wall, in between Klaus and Rebekah.

'It's a surprise. We're just waiting for Stefan to wake up for the big reveal.' Klaus smirked.

I felt my stomach clench, and I knew that we were in Mystic falls before Klaus dramatically announced it to Stefan and me. We were all screwed.

 **That's chapter ten for you! I liked writing this one, and I had fun finally putting down her feelings about Klaus. I personally find this hard for her, because over the next few chapters, she's going to find her loyalties to different people are tested. Let me know what you think and I'll see you next time!**

 **Would like to say a huge thank you to Alice. , kazekrystal, DarthWinterSoldier and lylooo99 for either choosing to follow or favourite my story, it means a lot!**

 _ **Geminigurl89: Awesome job! I can't wait for the next chapter!**_ **Thank you, I hope you've enjoyed it ;)**


	11. The Reckoning

Chapter Eleven

'Do you mind, I cannot walk that fast!' I muttered, trailing about five feet behind Klaus.

'I do apologise, love let me give you a hand.' Klaus said coming to sudden stop and reaching behind me to grab my upper arm and drag me along.

'Oh yeah because this is an improvement.' I mumbled, Klaus only responded by squeezing my arm tighter, tight enough that I knew it would bruise. I refused to react, though his anger was making me nervous, and making it harder for me to predict his actions.

He was currently dragging me down a corridor in Mystic Falls High school and I was getting more and more fearful with every step; I could feel Elena and we were getting closer to her and I didn't know what to do. Klaus had snapped Stefan's neck again after announcing that we were back in Mystic Falls and ordered Rebekah to stay behind before he grabbed me and said that I was coming with him. Ever since I woke up in the back of the truck I knew that tonight was going to end badly, I knew that Klaus was going to find out about Elena if he didn't already know, though the fact we were in the school was a dead give away.

I was so focused on Elena and where she was I didn't realise that Klaus had pulled us to a stop until he smirked maliciously and flashed us somewhere, somewhere that was _very_ close to where Elena was.

'Shit.' I said softly as Elena walked around the corner, she hadn't noticed us yet and she was smiling, I could feel her happiness and I hated that it was going to be ruined.

'There's my girl.' Klaus said, a dangerous smile on his face.

Elena looked up, and I literally saw the happiness fall from her face as she saw the angry hybrid standing in front of her. I was so shocked to actually see her that my focus on her feelings fell for a second.

'Klaus.' She said, she hadn't looked at me yet, probably terrified as to what him being there meant.

'What am I chopped liver?' I joked, trying to lessen the terror on her face, my voice made her finally look in my direction and I took her fear as her eyes met mine, glad to feel that she was relieved to see me.

'Kim,' She whispered.

'Hey little sister.' I smiled, genuinely happy to see her, despite the circumstances. Her eyes flickered to Klaus and she looked like she was about to run, 'I wouldn't bother, Lena. You won't get far and he's already angry enough.' I muttered, gesturing to Klaus without looking at him, I did feel a flicker of amusement from him that was replaced with anger instantaneously.

'You need to calm down.' I said to him, huffing in annoyance when he squeezed my arm tighter, 'you squeeze my arm any tighter you're going to cut off the circulation.'

'I wouldn't test me right now, love.' Klaus warned and I just rolled my eyes in response, not listening.

'You are such a drama queen.' I muttered.

'I am not a drama queen.' Klaus said, his anger growing even more, I could feel Elena's concern, but I refused to back down.

'I swear I've already told you this before but I'll say it again, shouting will not get you anywhere.' I said, meeting his gaze square on.

Klaus didn't respond but he had this look in his eye that probably was supposed to make me terrified, but I wasn't, I knew that at least in that moment, he wasn't going to hurt me. However, I wasn't that sure about him not hurting Elena. He stared at me for a moment longer, his anger dissipating, though it grew again when his eyes turned back to Elena. At some point he had let go of my arm and I took full advantage and moved over to Elena's side, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders, she melted into my side and I amplified the comforting waves I was sending to her.

'You put a real damper on my plans, sweetheart.' Klaus started as he walked in between Elena and me, grabbing our upper arms and dragging us with him.

'We _can_ walk you know.' I muttered.

'The whole point of becoming a hybrid was to make more hybrids and I've been unable to do that. I think that has something to do with the fact that you're still breathing, now what are we going to do about that?' Klaus said, ignoring my statement as a dangerous smirk lit up on his face. I rolled my eyes and looked around him to Elena, taking her fear as I did so.

'Don't take him too seriously, he's all bark and no bite.' I said, giving Klaus a smirk of my own when he glared at me.

'I think you of all people know that's not true, love.' Klaus smirked, his voice suggestive.

'What?' Elena asked, I looked over to her and gave her a look, indicating what Klaus was talking about and she gasped, 'no!' She said, her tone one of surprise and curiosity.

'Yeah.' I said, noticing Klaus' curious look; he must have underestimated how close Elena and I actually were.

She raised her brows suggestively, silently asking if he was any good, and I gave her a slight shrug; she looked surprised.

'I don't have that much experience, for all I know he's mediocre.' I explained, and she nodded in understanding.

Klaus's head was moving back and forth rapidly as he tried to understand what we were talking about, though when I said the word 'mediocre' I could practically feel his amusement bubbling up inside him, as well as his smugness.

'Stop that.' I said, glaring at him, he raised his eyebrows innocently and I continued, 'I can feel your smugness dripping from you.' He just grinned, his smugness growing even more.

'You can feel his smugness?' Elena asked, curious.

'Yeah! I finally found out what I am, Lena!' I said, brightly and I could feel Klaus starting to get annoyed at how casual we were both being when we were supposed to be prisoners.

Elena opened her mouth, probably about to ask what I was, when we were cut off by Klaus' terrible American accent as we walked into the gym.

'Attention, seniors you have been busted. Prank night is over, please clear out immediately!' He came to a stop in front of a young couple, he released my arm to point between the two of them, 'I remember you.'

They looked confused and he continued, waving his hand dismissively, 'don't worry, I wasn't in my right head the last time we met.' He smirked, and I figured he was referring to the time he had possessed Alaric's body, 'now be a good girl and hold your leg up.' He compelled, then turning to the man who was stood next to her as he compelled him too, 'if she drops her leg, Chad, I want you to beat her to death.'

I took their confusion and fear as Klaus pulled me and Elena towards the bleachers, I ended up sitting in the middle and I held Elena close to me as I comforted her with my powers, though she didn't seem to be needing it which surprised me. She moved her head from my shoulder and looked over to Klaus, 'if you're going to kill me just do it. You don't have to hurt anybody.' Elena said, looking over to the two teenagers he'd compelled.

'I wouldn't bother Elena, I've seen him do worse for less.' I muttered, looking over to the pair he had compelled to make sure that they were calm. I could feel Klaus' stare boring into the side of my head, but I pretended not to notice.

'Come on, love. Of course I do.' Klaus said eventually, addressing Elena. I felt her stiffen and I squeezed her waist in warning, silently telling her not to push him.

'So… not that I'm not enjoying watch innocent people be tortured.' I muttered, my voice sarcastic as I turned to him, 'what are you planning?'

He grinned but didn't answer, which annoyed me and his grin grew as if he knew exactly how I was feeling. Asshole. We were sat there for god knows how long, but it felt like ages, eventually I turned to Elena, turning my back on Klaus as I pretended he wasn't there and I told her about what had happened over the summer. I left out all the times I had witnessed innocent people die, of course, seeing as I was trying to lighten the mood and take her mind off everything that was happening. I told her about playing would you rather with Stefan, which actually made her laugh, seeing as she knew how ruthless I could be with that game. I told her about how I was also a hybrid, which made her raise her brows in surprise, but when I told her about both parts that made me a hybrid, her surprise faded away; she had known how good my instincts were and how sensitive I was of other people's feelings. I told her about the nonsense Gloria had spouted about me being Klaus' mate, which made both Klaus and Elena snort in amusement. Eventually, I ran out of things to tell her, so I asked her to fill me in on what had happened in Mystic Falls while I had been away, but Klaus cut her off as he addressed the compelled teenagers.

'Keep it up,' he said, when he noticed that the girl was now struggling to keep her leg up, I went to move to help her, but Klaus grabbed my wrist and give me a warning look.

'Where's Stefan?' Elena asked, worried.

'He's on a time out.' Klaus replied, his answer making me snort.

'That's putting it mildly. He's been snapping his neck all afternoon.' I said, giving Elena the honest answer she deserved, though I did hate the concern I could feel coming off her when I did, instead of taking it I sent her a comforting wave to lessen it a little; she deserved to be worried about the man she loved.

The door to the gym burst open and I looked over to see Bonnie and Matt walk into the gym. I stood up immediately, about to tell them to get out of here but Klaus had already flashed behind them, blocking their exit.

'Ah good, I was wondering when you were going to show up. Now we can get started,' Klaus said, his voice bright but I could hear the anger lurking beneath it, he turned to the two compelled teenagers, 'you two can sit tight for now. Take a break.'

Bonnie's eyes flickered over to Elena and me almost as if to check that we were all right before she turned to face Klaus, her gaze unflinching.

'I assume you're the reason she's still breathing?' Klaus asked Bonnie, gesturing over to Elena. I went to stand next to Bonnie with my arms crossed in front of me, a smirk on my face.

'Actually, the reason Elena came back to life after the ritual was thanks to the resuscitation elixir that Elijah provided. Maybe you shouldn't have daggered him.' I replied before Bonnie could, my smirk growing when his disappeared.

'What?' Klaus asked flatly.

'I said-' I went to repeat myself but he cut me off with a glare, I held up my arms defensively, which only served to anger him more.

'Why didn't you tell me this earlier?' He demanded.

'You never asked.' I said simply, making his glare harsher if that were possible.

'No matter. I'm sure you can still find me a solution to my problem.' Klaus said, as his eyes went back to Bonnie, 'seeing as that elixir was made by witches, thus making it a witchy interference, I'm going to have you find the fix for the undesirable side effects.'

As soon as he finished speaking Rebekah came through the door, dragging an unwilling Tyler behind her. I could feel her annoyance with how much he was fighting to get out of her grip, and I could feel Tyler's embarrassment at not being able to get out of her hold.

'Get off me!' Tyler demanded.

'Hush now,' Rebekah said, rolling her eyes.

'I'd like you all to meet my sister, Rebekah. Word of warning, she can be quite mean.' Klaus smirked as he looked over to his sister.

Rebekah and I simultaneously rolled our eyes, as we both muttered, 'don't be an arse.'

Rebekah and I shared an amused look as Klaus glared at the both of us. I felt Elena come to stand beside me and I linked my arm through hers as Rebekah threw Tyler into Klaus' arms. Klaus turned him so that his back was against his chest as he started speaking, rolling up his sleeve to reveal his forearm.

'Oh no.' I muttered, instantly knowing what he was going to do. Klaus smirked at my reaction before he continued.

'I'm going to make this very simple...Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually.' Klaus said as he bit into his wrist and forced Tyler to drink his blood. I could feel Tyler's fear and I took it instinctively.

'I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler's sake...You better hurry.' Klaus said before he dramatically snapped Tyler's neck. I wasn't surprised by his dramatics, but I could feel everyone else's shock and worry. I sent some comforting waves towards them and that seemed to snap them out of their trance.

'He's dead.' Matt said, disbelief laced in his voice.

'He's not dead, Klaus' blood will turn him into a vampire.' Elena said aloud, as if she was trying to reassure herself as well as everyone else.

'And if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through his transition. Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and whatnot. I'll hold on to Kim and Elena...for safe-keeping.' Klaus said reaching his arm across mine and Elena's shoulders.

'Go, we'll be fine.' I assured them, they looked unsure but when I gave them a look they ran through the gym doors without hesitation.

'So this is the latest doppelgänger.' Rebekah said, coming to stand in front of Elena as she examined her face, 'the original was much prettier.'

I rolled my eyes at her pettiness as I turned to Elena, 'don't mind her, she used to have a thing with Stefan before Klaus daggered her ninety years ago. Long story.'

Rebekah glared at me and I held up my hands defensively, 'what it's true, isn't it?' Smiling softly when she reluctantly nodded to me, 'it's not Stefan's fault that he moved on and it's not Elena's fault that they fell in love.' Amazingly, Elena and Rebekah nodded in agreement and smiled softly at one another.

'As nice as it is to witness this girl power moment,' Klaus muttered sarcastically, 'Rebekah, be a dear and move the transitioning werewolf elsewhere.'

Rebekah complied as I shook my head at his tone but otherwise didn't comment though I _really_ wanted to. I could feel Elena's amusement at my reaction, but she suppressed it with her greatest efforts. I gave her a look, telling her I knew what she was thinking and her determination to stay quiet was broken when she snorted in amusement. I reluctantly joined in on her laughter, though I stopped when I heard Klaus' angry voice.

'What the hell is so funny?' He demanded, glaring between the two of us.

'Inside joke, you wouldn't get it' I said, waving my hand dismissively.

Elena snorted again, her mind probably going back to the day when I had witnessed Jeremy trying to order Elena around, rather rudely, just like Klaus had just done to Rebekah. I had told him off and when he had told me that I wasn't his mother and I couldn't tell him what to do, I told him he was right and I would punish him as a sister would. So the next day, when he had brought a girl friend over, I had made sure to plant all of my stuffed animals on his bed, along with the Justin Bieber poster I had taken from Elena's room. I had to buy her a new one when Jeremy tore it from his wall and ripped it in half but it had been so worth it. Jeremy had apologized for his behaviour and since he hadn't ordered us to do anything like we were his personal slaves, which Elena and I both appreciated.

'So what do we do now? Just sit around and wait?' I asked, looking around the empty gym, my eyes stopping on the two teenagers briefly as I took their new fear and pain before my eyes came to a stop on Klaus.

'What else do you suggest, love?' Klaus asked.

'I'm hungry.' I said, giving him a big smile.

He looked like he was trying not to laugh at my expression, but I knew that was only for Elena's benefit seeing as he knew I could sense his emotions.

'This is a hostage situation, love. I'm not going to feed you.' Klaus said after he had managed to school his expression into a faux glare.

'Well that doesn't make a change from these past few months then.' I muttered, turning to Elena, 'you know he kept forgetting to feed me? Terrible kidnapper this one, I almost died from starvation, Elena!' I said, noting that I was being overdramatic but I was trying to make him feel bad; I _really_ was hungry, despite the circumstances.

'I thought you looked thinner.' Elena commented as she looked me over; I was still wearing my high waisted shorts and pink laced crop top, my jacket was still in the truck seeing as Klaus hadn't been nice enough to let me grab it before he dragged me out of there.

'Exactly, I'm basically wasting away!' I agreed, turning back to Klaus ignoring the way his eyes were lustfully raking over my body, 'so…food?'

'I'm not getting you any food.' He said, his voice final, making me roll my eyes.

'Whatever, grumpy.' I mumbled, as Elena went over to the two compelled teenagers, making sure they were okay, ' _I'll_ go and get it! Elena do you have food in your locker?'

'Yeah, I think I have a few cereal bars stashed in there!' She shouted over to me, 'the combination is still the same.'

'Great, I'll be two minutes.' I said as I turned to open the gym doors, only to be blocked off by Klaus.

'You're not going anywhere, love.' Klaus growled.

'It's literally just there,' I pointed past him to the row of lockers along the wall, 'you can watch me the entire time, I'm not going to try anything; I just want food.'

He studied my expression for a moment before he nodded and let me past, I felt his eyes on me as I walked half way down the corridor before I stopped at Elena's locker and I opened it, I immediately grinned when I saw she had the double chocolate chip kind of cereal bars, aka my favorite. I also noticed a small vial of vervain in the bottom corner and without thinking about it I put it in my front pocket, feeling like I'd need it later. After I'd grabbed all three of the bars there, I slammed the door shut, putting two of them in my back pocket as I wasted no time in opening one and eating it.

'So good.' I moaned in approval as I walked straight past Klaus and back into the gym, I turned to him when I heard him shut the door behind me, 'want a bite?'

He shook his head but smiled a little, showing off his dimples, I forced myself to turn away before I stared too long. I walked over to Elena and the two teenagers, whose names I still didn't know.

'Anyone want a cereal bar?' I asked, holding out the two I had stashed in my back pocket.

'You took them all?' Elena said, surprised.

'Incase anyone else was hungry!' I said defensively, 'is anyone else hungry?'

The woman, who introduced herself as Dana smiled and accepted one of the bars while the man, whose name was Chad and Elena denied my offer. I shrugged and split the third bar and gave half to Dana while I happily ate the other. I had just swallowed my last mouthful when the doors to the gym slammed open when Stefan crashed through them. He looked terrible; he had a bloodstain on the front of his shirt and he looked weak from the amount of times Rebekah and Klaus had snapped his neck. I felt Elena stiffen next to me and I placed my hand over hers in comfort, and to keep her next to me.

'Come to save your damsel, mate?' Klaus asked from his seat on the bleachers.

'I came to ask your forgiveness. And to pledge my loyalty to you.' Stefan said, stopping in front of Klaus and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from snorting at how insincere he sounded. I looked over to Klaus and noticed his eyes were already on me, probably trying to read Stefan's true intentions as I read them; I shrugged and kept my expression blank.

'You've broke that pledge once already.' Klaus replied, his eyes finally moving to Stefan's.

'Elena means nothing to me anymore, and whatever you ask of me I _will_ do.' Stefan said, basically lying through his teeth.

'Fair enough,' Klaus stood, walking over to the four of us, 'let's drink on it.'

'I should probably warn you; I've been told that my blood tastes _disgusting._ You know like, sewage.' I said to Stefan.

'Not you, love. And I can assure you, your blood is divine.' Klaus said, his eyes darkening lustfully as his gaze flickered to the shoulder he had fed from a few days prior.

'I'd rather you fed from me than them.' I said, positioning myself so that Dana and Chad were behind me, Stefan stepped forward and I stepped back.

'No, Stefan don't! He cant hurt me, he already said-,' She was cut off when I basically tackled her from the side, knocking her to the floor and out of the way of the slap Klaus had been aiming towards her. Stefan snapped when he realized what Klaus had been about to do and he charged for Klaus, of course Klaus seemed to have been expecting this and had him pinned to the wall by his throat in five seconds. I took Stefan's pain but left his anger, knowing it would give him strength. I looked over to Elena to make sure she was all right but her eyes were fixed on Stefan.

'She means nothing to you? Your lies just keep piling up.' Klaus said, shouting in Stefan's face.

'Let her go! I'll do whatever you want, you have my word!' Stefan said, his voice desperate. I looked over to Elena and noticed a tear trailing down her cheek, I gently wiped it away as I pulled her to my chest, sending comforting waves to her.

'Your word doesn't mean much! I lived by your word all summer, during which time I never had to resort to this.' Klaus leaned closer to Stefan as he compelled him, 'now stop fighting.'

'Don't do this,' Stefan begged.

'I didn't want to. All I wanted was your allegiance, now it looks like I'm going to have to take it.' Klaus said.

'Don't, don't.' Stefan murmured.

'You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run, you will not hide, you will simply just obey.' Klaus compelled him.

'No, Stefan!' Elena said, I swear I literally felt her heart _break._ I kissed her hair and let her go to move in front of Dana and Chad, knowing what Klaus would make him do next and in that moment I was angrier than I had ever been in my _entire_ life. How could he do this? He claims to want allegiance but he doesn't give people the choice as to whether they give it? He tried to hit my sister and he just compelled Stefan to basically give up his free will, the bastard.

'Now, kill them,' Klaus said, smirking when Stefan stepped forward without hesitation, though it did drop almost immediately when he noticed me standing in front of them protectively.

'You might want to move, love.' Klaus said, actually sounding concerned.

'No.' I said holding my hands out in front of me, I decided to try something different. I could send waves of comfort to people in distress, so in theory I could do that with just about any emotion, right?

'Love, I will not ask again.' Klaus said, placing a hand on Stefan's chest as he went to attack regardless of the fact that I was in the way.

'No, Klaus. You've gone too far this time and I'm not just going to stand to the side and take their pain and their fear. I'm going to give you a taste of exactly what _I've_ been through this summer.' I said, holding out my hands in front of me as I pulled all of the fear, pain and suffering that I had taken from their victims this summer to the surface. It was like I was living it all over again, seeing as everything had to pass through me first before they went out to where I was directing them, but I knew I had to keep going. I closed my eyes as the faces of each person passed through my head like a slide show, which triggered the guilt that had grown watching each and every person die without being able to do anything about it. I heard Klaus and Stefan's cries of pain, but I also heard my own and I felt myself fall to my knees; exerting this much power was making me weak, but I refused to stop.

'Stop this!' Klaus said, I could hear the pain in his voice but I could also feel a slither of concern for me.

'Dana, Chad get out of here. Now!' I shouted with my eyes still closed as I tried to stay focused. I vaguely registered the sounds of two pairs of feet running away as I carried on fixating on the pain; I had reached the pain I had taken from the hybrids in transition, and I heard Stefan and Klaus' cries get louder as I hit them with twelve people's pain all at once; I had to bite my lip to keep my own cries at bay.

'Kim! Stop, they've gone, you need to stop!' Elena said, concern evident in her voice.

My eyes snapped open and I couldn't believe what I was seeing; Stefan was passed out on the floor, the pain apparently got too much for him while Klaus was on his knees as he cried out in pain. But that wasn't what shocked me, what _shocked_ me to my core was the golden light that was shining around Stefan, Klaus and me; it almost looked like a bubble with how thin and sheer it was, yet gold light was still erupting from it as well as the light that was coming from my hands and moving in Klaus' direction. I looked over to my left where Elena was standing and noticed, that even though she was trying her hardest, she couldn't get through. I dropped my hands from in front of me, and though that seemed to stop the pain that was still shimmering through me from going to Klaus, it didn't stop the lights coming from my hands, and it didn't make the shield drop. I looked over to Klaus and I could feel the panic on my face as well as the pain that I couldn't push back down. Klaus looked alarmed and he came over to my side without hesitation, despite what I had just done to him, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side.

'Easy, love' Klaus murmured, his other hand stroking my hair.

'I don't know how to make it stop.' I said, though my panic was subsiding as Klaus continued to stroke my hair and whisper comfortingly to me, 'it hurts,' I whimpered, hating myself for showing a weakness but I couldn't help it.

Klaus said nothing, but he did continue to hold me close and I felt my eyes flutter shut as my heartbeat went back down to a normal level, once I realized I had calmed down, my eyes snapped open. I looked down to my hands and noticed that nothing was coming out of them and the shield that had surrounded us not a moment before was now gone, I hadn't registered this for a second when I suddenly felt myself being tackled, of course because Klaus was still holding me we both went down to the ground. I looked up and noticed that Elena was basically lying on top of me as she squeezed me in a death grip, while Klaus was below me. In other words I was in a Klaus/Elena sandwich.

'Um, Elena- can't-breathe' I huffed out, laughing when she stood up with a huff, she offered me her hand and I took it, turning back to offer Klaus my hand only to see he had already stood up.

'What the hell was that?' I said looking around as if I was searching for evidence that it had actually happened, when I saw Stefan still unconscious on the ground I gulped, 'he's not dead is he?' I murmured.

'I have no idea, but whatever that was, I couldn't get through.' Elena said, her voice somewhat curious and impressed.

'I don't even know how I did that,' I said, looking down at my hands, shocked that I had managed to bring an Original down to his knees, I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes accusingly, 'it's your fault.'

'How so, love?' Klaus smirked.

'You pissed me off! You need to stop doing that.' I muttered, ignoring his chuckle as I walked over to Stefan I kneeled down, placing his head on my lap, I reached into my front pocket and pulled out the vial of vervain I had found in Elena's locker earlier. Grateful that my back was to Klaus and Elena at that moment, I gently opened Stefan's mouth and tipped the vervain down his throat; I had a feeling he was going to need it. I put the empty vial back into my pocket and placed his head back onto the floor as I went to stand by Elena, linking my arm through hers to ease some of her worry.

'How did you do it?' I blurted out as I met Klaus' eyes, he looked to me, confused as to what I was asking so I continued, 'whenever I can't control the emotions, whenever they become too much, you bring me back. How?'

'I don't know, love.' Klaus said with a shrug, looking like he was wondering that himself.

'What about what that witch told you? About you feeling content whenever your with one another?' Elena suggested, looking between the both of us.

'Nah, she was mental.' I said, dismissing that theory immediately.

'Didn't she say that you'd need to be around each other to be content or whatever though?' Elena pressed.

Klaus and I shared a look before I answered, 'yes but that was after we had sex and drank each other's blood at the same time' I muttered, willing myself not to blush.

'And I'll take it you haven't done that?' Elena smirked as she noticed my growing discomfort.

'No. Not exactly.' I mumbled, looking anywhere but the smirking faces of Elena and Klaus, 'he drank mine but I haven't drank his. I don't know why we're talking about this, this has nothing to do with that!'

'Well maybe the bond will get stronger if you both do it.' Elena suggested,

'I am done with this conversation.' I muttered, looking over to Stefan, willing him to wake up and allow a subject change.

Elena laughed and I could hear Klaus chuckling- unbelievable! He had drunk her blood to her death and yet now they were both joining forces to embarrass me! Rude.

'I do _not_ like this, if you two could go back to hating each other that would be _fantastic,'_ I said, gesturing in between them both.

Klaus rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply when suddenly Stefan shot up, gasping for breath. I looked over to him, feeling a little guilty as I unconsciously hid behind Elena. What? I knew he wouldn't be angry with her seeing as she hadn't done it, plus he _was_ in love with her.

'You alright, mate?' Klaus asked from where he stood, his hands clasped behind his back.

'Not really. What the hell happened?' Stefan asked, rubbing his head.

'Klaus snapped your neck! I know, total psycho, we all agree with you there, Stefan.' I said, forcing myself to stop when I noticed that I was rambling.

Stefan looked over to Klaus as if he was trying to remember that happening but when he noticed that Klaus was giving me an amused look his eyes flickered to me and I gave him a sheepish smile.

'In my defense, this is all Klaus' fault.' I started, continuing when Klaus' brow quirked in amusement, 'he compelled you to obey him and then he told you to kill Dana and Chad so I decided to make you feel some of the pain I took over the summer until you passed out.' I said, talking so fast I wasn't sure if any of them would be able to understand me, 'so to conclude. Klaus' fault.' I nodded for emphasis when Stefan just continued to stare at me, his expression one of complete shock.

'Blame me if you like love, but you still did that.' Klaus said, referring to the unconscious state Stefan had been in moments before.

'I will blame you, because I wouldn't have had to do it if you hadn't made Stefan kill them! You know what you are the most annoying, infuriating, immature, psychotic, impulsive alpha male I have ever met!' I said, turning to Klaus and listing off the qualities on one hand as I stepped closer to him until I came to a stop an inch away from him.

I noticed that Klaus didn't look or feel angry, instead he looked like he was trying not to burst out laughing, which infuriated me more.

'It is _not_ funny.' I said, my voice dangerously low. He tried to school his expression but failed miserably and a small laugh slipped out from between his lips, I was about to lunge for him when I felt myself being pulled back, I looked over and noticed it was Elena.

'Calm down.' Elena said, sounding amused herself; I looked between her and Klaus with an incredulous expression on my face.

'Excuse me, but why are you _both_ laughing at me?' I demanded.

'I'm sorry but you might as well be an angry kitten right now.' Elena replied as she laughed for real this time, Klaus _and_ Stefan joining in.

'I am more dangerous than-' I was cut off my Rebekah suddenly slamming through the gym doors, heading straight for Elena, looking pissed.

'Where the bloody hell is my necklace?' She screeched coming to a stop in front of Elena.

'What are you talking about?' Klaus asked, coming to stand at Rebekah's side.

Rebekah handed him the phone in her hand as an explanation and when he saw what was on it his eyes darkened as he looked over to Stefan and glared.

'Well, well more lies.' He muttered, angrily.

'Where is it?' Rebekah demanded and I felt myself stiffen, knowing she was going to attack Elena no matter what she answered; the anger was _pouring_ from her.

'I don't have it anymore.' Elena answered, and I could tell she was telling the truth, but that didn't matter.

'Liar!' Rebekah screeched and I pushed Elena to the floor as I moved to where she had been standing a moment before. I felt her grab my head and pull it roughly to the side as she roughly sank her fangs into my neck; I was horrible, when Klaus had fed from me before it had actually been _pleasurable_ , but Rebekah was sinking all of her teeth into me as well as her fangs, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming in pain. I felt myself being thrown to the floor on top of Elena; I winced and rolled off her quickly.

'Are you okay?' I asked her, hoping I hadn't done her too much damage.

She gave me an incredulous look as she helped me off the floor, 'are you okay?' She gently moved my hair away from the side of my neck to inspect the wound and I pretended not to notice her eyes widen in horror. I took her worry and concern as I pulled my hair back over my neck as I tried to ignore the fact that I felt like I was missing a huge chunk of skin.

'I'm fine.' I lied, looking over to Klaus as he roughly grabbed Rebekah to stop her from going after Elena again.

'Knock it off!' He shouted.

'Make her tell me where it is, Nik!' She shouted, though I could see and feel her guilt when she realized it was me she fed from and not Elena. Klaus brought both of his hands in front of his face in a praying position as he smiled in irritation. He walked slowly over to Elena as he asked her where the necklace was.

'Katherine stole it.' Elena answered.

'Katarina, of course' Klaus murmured.

'I'm just gonna sit right here…' I said, basically collapsing on the floor, bringing Elena with me. I could feel Elena's concern and I looked to her and gave her a reassuring smile, 'I'm fine. I'm just very tired.'

'Stay awake, Kim!' Elena said as she shook me, her voice urgent.

'I'm awake, Elena, geez.'

I brought my hand to my neck and winced as my hand touched the open wound, I pulled it back and stared at the excessive amount of blood on my hand and something clicked in my mind.

'It's the blood.' I murmured, looking up to Elena, 'the hybrids aren't transitioning because they need your blood to complete the transition.'

Elena's eyes widened at my words but she didn't seem too surprised and I knew that was because of the concern I could feel that she had for me, I took it and sent her a reassuring wave. But apparently me doing that when I already felt incredibly weak wasn't the _best_ idea. I looked over to Klaus and Rebekah, and noticed Stefan on the floor with his neck snapped for the first time, I frowned when I couldn't remember when that happened and figured it must have been when Rebekah's fangs were in my neck. I could feel myself suddenly go light headed as I fell back onto the gym floor; too weak to even sit up now.

'Kim!' Elena shouted, shaking my shoulder as she tried to get me to respond but I couldn't manage anything more than a groan.

I felt another presence at the opposite side of me and felt myself being pulled up and a wrist being pressed to my lips. I managed to swallow the little that had made its way into my mouth without any help from me, and it gave me the strength to open my mouth and wrap my lips around the blood that was flowing. I kept drinking until I felt my strength return and once I was done, I slumped back against the body that was holding me up as I sighed in relief.

'Are you okay, love?' Klaus murmured in my ear, his hot breath tickling the side of my now healed neck, making goose bumps rise over my skin.

'Yeah. Thanks for that.' I said, patting the arm that he had wrapped around my bare waist as I tried to ignore the tingles zapping throughout my body.

'No worries, love.' Klaus said as he helped me stand, I squeezed his hand silently thanking him again, before I reached down to help Elena up from the floor. I hugged her in reassurance before I pulled back and left my arm around her waist.

'Now what?' I asked, looking to Klaus, 'if Elena's blood is what you need to complete the transition, what are you going to do?'

'I'm going to test your theory, love.' Klaus flashed away for a moment before he returned with a small test tube, he walked over to Elena slowly after he told Rebekah to go back to Tyler.

'May I?' He said to Elena, though we both knew he wasn't really asking. I squeezed her arm reassuringly, silently letting her know that she wouldn't feel a thing, because I would make sure she wouldn't.

She rolled up her sleeve and Klaus pulled out a scalpel and dragged it across her skin; I took the pain created from it before Elena had a chance to register it. Klaus filled the vial with the blood before offering Elena a gulp of his own blood to stop the bleeding. He gestured for us to follow him as he walked down the corridor into the science lab, where Tyler had just woken up.

'What's going on? What's happening to me?' Tyler asked, on the verge of freaking out, I took his panic before it got too much, while Klaus walked further into the room and knelt beside him.

'Drink this.' He said, holding the vial out to him. Tyler hesitated and looked to Caroline, who was being held back by Rebekah.

'No, no, no, Tyler, don't!' She said as she struggled to get from Rebekah's grip.

'He'll die anyway, sweetheart. Bottoms up.' Klaus smirked when Tyler took the vial from him and drank it in one go. He immediately fell to his back as he began coughing and crying out in pain; I took the pain from him and winced when I felt how much there was. Tyler gathered himself and suddenly sat up on his knees, his eyes glowing yellow, his fangs barred and black veins underneath his eyes.

'Well, that's a good sign.' Klaus smiled, patting Tyler on the shoulder.

'Much better than crying tears of blood,' I agreed, smiling as I realized that Tyler was going to be okay.

Klaus hummed in agreement as he abruptly stood, making his way over to Elena like a predator stalking its prey. I moved Elena behind me protectively as I faced him head on; I didn't like how he was looking at her.

'I don't know what you're thinking right now, but I _definitely_ do not like that look in your eyes.' I muttered stepping back and inevitably forcing Elena to step back as well.

'If Elena's blood is the key, then I'm going to need _much_ more of it.' Klaus muttered, his voice dangerously low.

'So what you're just going to bleed her dry?' I said, hearing Elena bump into the lockers, bringing me to a stop as well.

'You'll forgive me for this later, love.' Klaus murmured, actually sounding genuinely regretful as he grabbed my head and slammed me into the lockers, making the whole world go black as I fell into the darkness.

I groaned at the pain in my skull as I regained consciousness.

 _What the hell happened?_ I wondered, then all of a sudden the whole night came rushing back to me and I sat up, only to see that I was on the floor in the hospital car park. _How the bloody hell did I get here?_ I looked over to my right where I saw Damon and Klaus fighting, seeing as I didn't think Damon was going to get himself killed I left him to it and went into the hospital, looking for Elena. I found her unconscious in a bed with several different tubes in her arms. I realized that one of them was keeping her sedated while the other was taking her blood. _The bastard._ I reached forward and pulled the tubes swiftly out of her arms before I then looked around for a wheel chair because there was no way I was going to be able to carry her out of here, I was strong but I couldn't carry her when she was practically a dead weight. I jumped when I felt someone come up behind me, but I relaxed when I felt that it wasn't Klaus, but Damon.

'Can you carry her?' I asked him, my voice soft.

He nodded and stepped forward, sweeping her into his arms bridal style. I trailed behind them as I tried not to eavesdrop on them having what appeared to be a moment when Elena came to for just a moment before she lapsed back into unconsciousness again.

'What did he do to her?' Damon asked once he had laid Elena on the back seat of his car with her head on my lap.

'He was taking her blood, he figured out that her blood is what completes the hybrids' transition' I said, my voice soft as I tried to avoid waking Elena.

Damon didn't say anything else as we made the trip back to the boarding house, I asked him to help me put her to bed and he complied, laying her in the same bed that Jenna and I had shared all those months ago. I kissed her forehead after I took off her shoes and tucked her under the covers, before I went back down stairs to ask Damon what he had done to run Klaus off. When I walked into the living room I noticed that Damon wasn't alone; Stefan was there too.

'Hey.' I said, feeling awkward.

Stefan gave me a soft smile before he returned my greeting, 'hey.'

'How are you?' I asked him, moving to sit on the sofa opposite him.

'I'm fine. You know, the funniest thing happened, Klaus tried to compel me to turn my humanity off but it didn't work. Any idea how?' He questioned me, looking as if he already knew the answer.

'You are very strong willed?'

Damon snorted as Stefan laughed, 'I don't know when you did it, but thank you.'

'No problem, if only I'd done it before he compelled you to obey everything he says.' I muttered, slightly annoyed.

'About that, he's ordered me to look after you and Elena while he's gone.' Stefan said, giving me a worried glance before he briefly looked to the ceiling where Elena was sleeping.

'Gone?' I asked, looking over to Damon.

'Yep. Katherine and me went on a little road trip and found out about a vampire hunter who hunts vampires that Klaus is apparently terrified of. Just the mention of his name made him leave with his tail in between his legs.' Damon muttered, sipping on his bourbon.

'Let me guess… Mikael?' I asked, my eyes flickering to Stefan when I remembered him quizzing Rebekah about who her and Klaus had been running from in the twenties.

'Yup.' Damon answered.

'Well what are we going to do?' I wondered, rubbing my eyes to make myself stay awake, which I needn't have bothered because Damon's next words made my blood run cold enough to snap me out of my sleepy daze with a jolt.

'We're going to find him, and he's going to help us kill Klaus.'

 **That's chapter eleven! I really liked writing this chapter, it was nice to bring back the sister relationship, I've been missing the bond that Elena and Kim have! I also liked drifting from the actual story line a little- Stefan still having his humanity on I think is going to be a major game changer! Let me know what you think!**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: OMG! OMG! I only saw you comment now! OMG! I can't believe it XD Huge Fan of you :O Thx to you as well and pls continue your perfect work!**_ **Thank you so much, I'm so happy you're liking the story so far and your support means the world to me- I hope you liked this chapter too :) xx**

 **Would like to say a huge thank you to: Lady of Harrenhal and Infernoinside for choosing to either follow or favorite my story, it means a lot!**


	12. Smells Like Teen Spirit

Chapter Twelve

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

I groaned aloud and reached over to my left where the annoying sound was coming from, only to hit Elena in the head… repeatedly.

'Ow! Kim, stop it!' Elena shouted, grabbing my wrist to stop me from hitting her again.

'Turn it off!' I moaned pulling my pillow over my head as I tried to block out the noise, mercifully, the beeping finally stopped and I nuzzled deeper into the mattress as I attempted to go to sleep. I hadn't slept at all last night and I refused to believe that it was because Klaus wasn't here. I mean, all those times I couldn't sleep without Klaus being there over the summer were just a coincidence, right? Because if I actually needed Klaus to sleep then I was completely and utterly _fucked_ seeing as he'd left town last night without a backwards glance. I sighed and pulled the pillow off my head, giving up on trying to get any shuteye, I looked over to Elena and saw that she was getting out of bed. I glanced at the clock and noticed the time- 5:15am.

'What in God's name are you getting up this early for? School doesn't start for another three hours!' My voice was absolutely horrified.

'I'm going to train with Ric. Though Stefan hasn't turned off his humanity yet, he is compelled to do as Klaus says and who knows how many times Klaus will have to ask before Stefan gives in?' Elena said, sleepily rubbing her eyes to wake herself up.

'Good point.' I muttered, throwing the covers off myself as I ran to get in the shower before her.

'Hey!' Elena shouted after me but I just laughed evilly in response.

I moaned when the hot water in the shower cascaded over my sore muscles and the bruises that Klaus had been nice enough to leave me with when he slammed me in the lockers. Honestly, the more I thought about last night the angrier I got. I had figured out why his hybrids were failing and as soon as he saw evidence for himself and realised that Elena's blood was the key ingredient he had knocked me out so that I couldn't protect my sister. He had then proceeded to take a dangerous amount of blood; he might have been actually planning to completely bleed her dry and kill her for all I knew. Though I knew logically him killing Elena wouldn't be the _greatest_ idea if he ever planned on making more hybrids, I didn't care in that moment; it was easier to pretend that he had been planning on killing her, because that fuelled my anger even more. When he did come back to Mystic Falls he was in for a rude awakening, and the longer he was gone the angrier I was going to get.

I sighed as I thought back to last night; Elena had woken up not long after Damon had ran through his whole plan about Mikael, though he was careful not to mention specifics due to Stefan being compelled to do everything Klaus said. She hadn't said anything; she hadn't even looked in Stefan and Damon's direction as she asked to be taken home. I had done so immediately, well I had asked Damon to give us a ride home, seeing as I didn't actually have anything of my own to drive. The whole ride home had been silent and every time I tried to focus on what Elena was feeling, I came up blank; it was as if she was numb. When we pulled up in front of the house she opened the door and got out without a word, I'd thanked Damon and hastily followed her, finding her in her bedroom collapsed in her bed as she cried. I had held her until she stopped crying, sending comforting waves towards her and stroking her hair, trying to get her to calm down. Eventually she had, and we'd both drowsily changed in to our pyjamas before we went to bed. I'd decided to sleep in her room, just in case her tears remerged again.

Honestly, I didn't know what had made her break down like that, but with everything that had happened, and everything she had seen last night, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had all just built up to the point of becoming too much. I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, looking at my naked reflection. From the front I didn't look _that_ bad, making the bruises I had sustained from falling face first to the floor after I had hit the lockers weren't as dark as the ones on my back. Now _they_ were bad, and they were pretty painful, but I had to get a handle on it; Elena needed me right now and I'm sure Jeremy would with all the crap he's been going through since I'd been gone; Damon had filled me in on Jeremy's ability to see ghosts in the car journey home last night. I dressed in some leggings after I pulled on a black thong and white sports bra. I wore a huge baggy sweatshirt over that seeing as it was bound to be _freezing_ at this time of the morning and it hid the bruises; I didn't want Elena or Ric to freak out.

'Come on, Kim! I need to get ready!' Elena shouted from the other side of the door, I unlocked it to let her in and she climbed into the shower while I finished brushing my teeth. When I was done I went down stairs and whipped up some pancakes; I made Elena and Jenna blueberry while Jeremy and myself had chocolate chip. I had just finished putting them on the plates when Elena walked in, grinning, the sight was so genuine that I couldn't help but smile back.

'Blueberry pancakes?' She said, genuinely excited, 'just like Mom used to make.' Her voice added softly, I gave her a small smile as I remembered the pancakes Mom used to make us _every_ morning without fail; the woman was an angel.

'Not as good as Mom's though. I use the same recipe, but I swear they'll never taste the same.' I murmured as I wrapped up Jeremy and Jenna's plates and placed them in the microwave with a note stuck to the front so they'd know they were there waiting for him when they woke up for school and work later.

'They taste the same to me.' Elena disagreed as she hungrily shoved the pancakes in her mouth, I laughed at her eagerness as I ate mine. It didn't take us long and once I had loaded the dishes in the dishwasher, we were off to meet Ric.

'Ric? Come out, come out wherever you are!' I shouted, my arm linked through Elena's in an attempt to steal some of her body heat- I had been right it _was_ freezing and I was severely regretting not wearing twenty layers under my jumper, not to mention the fact that my ass was freezing because I'd decided that wearing a thong was a good idea.

'Over here!' Ric shouted from my left, I pulled Elena in that direction only to be grabbed from behind. Without even thinking I released Elena's arm, bringing my elbow back to meet the person's ribs and throwing my head back to head but my attacker in the jaw. He released my throat and I spun around, about to kick him in the ribs, only to come to a stop when I realised it was Ric; he was on his knees groaning in pain.

'What the hell are you doing?' I shouted, demanding an explanation.

'It was a surprise attack. Obviously you know how to defend yourself.' Rick wheezed out, with a sigh I offered him my hand and helped him up, ignoring the fresh pain in my back from him roughly holding me against his chest.

I looked over to Elena when I felt her surprise and noticed that her jaw was hanging open, completely shocked.

'Impressed?' I asked, giving her a wink.

'Where did you learn to do that?' Elena asked.

'I took a few self-defence classes when I was… away. I don't think they'll come in handy against a vampire, though.' I said as I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Ric a hard stare.

'Probably not unassisted' Ric agreed before he kneeled down and started to root through a duffel bag on the floor, 'but with a few modifications, you'll have the same affect.' He handed me and Elena some kind of glove that fit over our hand and half way up our forearms. I was about to ask what this was supposed to do, when I noticed the small wooden stakes embedded in the material.

'How does it work?' I asked, clenching and unclenching my fist as I got used to it on my arm.

'The pressure of your punch ejects the stakes.' Alaric explained, before pulling one on to his arm before he turned to punch a dummy he had strung to a tree, the stake ejected into the dummy's abdomen.

'Sounds simple enough.' Elena muttered as she stepped forward and punched the dummy. I could feel her confusion and annoyance when nothing happened, after she had tried for the third time, with no result she turned to Ric.

'It must be jammed or something.' She said.

Alaric took the sleeve from her, put it on his own arm and punched the dummy, the stake ejected. Elena frowned, and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing at the dumbstruck expression on her face.

'You should start lifting some weights, get some meat on those bones.' Alaric said to Elena, his expression sympathetic; he knew how much she wanted to be able to do this.

'Thanks for not sugar coating it.' Elena muttered sarcastically and I couldn't help the snort that escaped me at her tone, she turned to me and glared and I held up my hands defensively.

'Your turn.' Alaric said, gesturing for me to step forward, I complied eagerly.

'No problem, I'll just picture Klaus' face. That should do it.' I muttered, deadly serious; Elena and Alaric laughed though they both came to an abrupt stop when I punched the dummy three times successively; one stake had ejected in it's head, one in it's heart and one in the stomach.

'What?' I said, my tone innocent.

'How did you do that?' Elena asked, her voice incredulous.

'I told you, I pictured Klaus' face. When that bastard comes back to town he better watch his back.' I muttered, pulling off the glove and handing it to Ric. Neither of them laughed this time, they now heard the serious edge to my voice and I could feel that they were both glad that they weren't Klaus in that moment.

'What about-.' Elena started but I cut her off, not wanting anyone else to know about the whole mate nonsense.

'We should get going, don't you have to go in early to meet the girls? The first day of senior year!' I said, making my voice excided as I nudged Elena gently in her side to get her spirits up too.

'Yeah… you're right.' Elena murmured as she looked at her watch, her tone severely lacking in enthusiasm.

'Look I know there's a lot of crap going on right now; Stefan's on the brink of turning off his humanity, Klaus is eventually going to come back to town to demand more of your blood, Jeremy's seeing the ghosts of his dead ex-girlfriends and I am extremely sleep deprived, but Elena.' I gently grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at me, 'you're only going to have one senior year. So make it count.'

Elena stared into my eyes for a long moment, and I could feel the different stages of emotions as they carried through her; pain, fear, worry before she finally settled on determination, smiling brightly at me as she did. I returned her smile and hugged her, sending her as much comfort as I could possibly manage. She hugged me tightly, hard enough that I had to fight the wince that wanted to come forward.

Elena gave me a thankful smile when she pulled away before she walked back to her car, leaving me with Ric when I volunteered to help him clear up. I was carefully putting all of the weapons back in his duffel, secretly terrified that I was going to accidentally shoot a stake out at him or myself, when Ric broke the comfortable silence.

'You're a good sister.' He said, his voice genuine, I looked up to him surprised before I smiled at him in thanks.

'I do my best.' I murmured, hoping he would drop the topic soon; I didn't really handle compliments that well, and I was only doing the same thing that any other older sibling would do, as far as I was concerned.

'You put Jeremy and Elena first. It's admirable, but you should really consider putting yourself first a few times.' Ric said as he untied the rope that had the dummy strung to the tree.

I frowned at him, confused, 'what do you mean, exactly?' I asked.

'I mean, when was the last time you did something just for you, without putting Jeremy and Elena's needs first?'

'When I left town after our parents died. I knew they needed me, but I just couldn't stand to be in the house, it felt like I was suffocating with all of the memories around me.' I said honestly, 'so, not that long.'

'You feel guilty.' Ric said, it wasn't a question it was a statement of the fact, and he continued when I just shrugged in response, 'well, you shouldn't. You're their sister, sure, but you lost your parents too. You grieved in your own way and they grieved in theirs. They don't resent you for it, so you should let that guilt go.' Alaric's voice sounded so sincere that I honestly wanted to believe him, but the guilt in my gut wouldn't allow me to; it was there as a reminder of how I had failed my family. Ric seemed to notice and he sighed, sad that I refused to listen to him. We finished packing everything up and Ric gave me a lift home, when I got there I was happy to see Jenna and Jeremy were still there, sat at the table eating their pancakes. I walked in, grinning widely; I hadn't seen them since I had gotten back.

'Nice?' I asked them, laughing when both of their gazes snapped to my direction simultaneously, 'did I forget to mention… I'm back!'

Jenna jumped up from her chair and hugged me tightly, I was so happy to see her that I didn't even care about the pain that emitted from my back.

'It's so good to see you! When they told me about you going off with Klaus I was so worried about you. Though I knew you could handle yourself; you've always been tough.' Jenna said when she pulled away from me, grinning brightly as she placed her hands on my cheeks, much like grandparents did at every holiday as they commented on how much you'd grown.

'I'm sorry I just left like that, but Klaus wasn't gonna let me say goodbye. Plus I knew you wouldn't let me leave if I did, and I had to go.' I murmured, noting that Jeremy's sadness seemed to be growing by the second.

'Thank you for the pancakes, sweetie they were delicious,' She leaned forward to kiss my cheek, 'I have to get going but we'll catch up later, yes?' She made her way out of the door when I nodded to her question calling out a 'love you both!' over her shoulder. I went and sat by Jeremy, helping myself to Jenna's left over pancakes.

'Are you okay, Jer?' I asked him, my voice soft, 'I get that you're upset that I just left like that when I'd barely been back for five minutes, and I'm so sorr-,' I was cut off when Jeremy suddenly grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug.

'Don't you _dare_ apologise, I understand why you left, and while I didn't like it and I missed you like _crazy_ I never blamed you for leaving.' Jeremy said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

'I'm glad you don't hate me.' I whispered into his chest as I pulled my baby brother tighter; I had missed him so much.

'I could never hate you.' Jeremy said honestly, and I gave him a small smile when he pulled back, 'thank you for the pancakes, but I really need to get going too- I don't want to be late on my first day of Junior year!' Jeremy said, his fake enthusiasm making me laugh.

'Go, have fun, make the most of it Jer, you deserve it' I said, hugging him once more before letting him go.

When the door closed behind him, I looked around the empty, very quiet house and took a deep breath. Since I had nothing to do, no job to rush off to, I decided to clean the house. It was a distraction that I welcomed with open arms, once I was done and the house was spotless, I noticed that it was now twelve in the afternoon. I decided to shower and make my way to the grill for some lunch, wanting a change of scenery. I dressed in a white flowy dress that was fitted down to my waist where it then puffed out. It wasn't actually mine, (it was Elena's) but I just didn't feel like wearing jeans or shorts, which didn't happen very often. I paired it with a black leather jacket (also Elena's) and my white high top Converse. When I got the grill I made my way to a booth without glancing around and picked up a menu, pretending to look it over even though I already knew what I was going to order.

'Well, fancy meeting you here.' I looked up to see Rebekah sliding into the seat across from me with a bright smile on her face, which dimmed when she noticed my glare.

'What are you doing here, Rebekah? I assumed you would have left town with your asshole of a brother.' I said to her after I'd given the waiter my order.

'The bastard left me behind. Can you believe it?' Rebekah said, clearly annoyed.

'Yes I can, your brothers a dick.' I said simply, trying not to laugh at the surprise in her expression, 'what can I help you with?'

'Why are you being mean? I thought we were friends.' She said, and I could sense that she was genuinely upset, I had to ignore the pang of guilt in my gut.

'Well, after you tried to attack my sister and then actually took a chunk out of me instead it's bound to create some _issues_ in any friendship.' I muttered, picking up my diet Coke that had been placed in front of me.

'I'm sorry about that, I really am. I was just so upset about losing the necklace; I'd had it for as long as I could remember and then it just turned up out of the blue in a picture around the neck of the girl my ex-boyfriend is currently in love with. I was pissed okay?' Rebekah said, and I could tell she was being genuine, so after I stared at her for a little longer, making her sweat, I let my face turn up in a grin.

'Apology accepted, though your brother is still firmly on my shit list, at the very top.' I admitted, smiling again when she laughed.

'I don't blame you for that one, darling. I'm assuming that the stiff manner in which your walking around has something to do with the way my brother threw you into those lockers last night?' Rebekah asked, and honestly I wasn't surprised in the slightest that she had noticed.

'Yup. I'm bruised all over my back. Hurts like a bitch, but what are you gonna do?' I replied, sipping my drink, wondering why she was pursing her lips as if she was considering something.

'I can help you with that, if you like? I'm assuming you don't want anyone else to know because you don't like people worrying about you, so a gulp of blood and you'll be right as rain.' She offered.

'Are you sure? I mean I don't want you to think I'm using you, honestly it's not like it's a life threatening injury and I can live with the pain until they he-' Rebekah cut me off as she gently pulled me to my feet, in the direction of the bathroom, as soon as she had made sure it was empty the turned around and bit into her wrist, offering it to me.

'Take it and stop your incessant rambling, will you?' She muttered, making me laugh, but I leant forward and took a few gulps of her blood, relieved when I felt my back muscles relax as the pain eased. I hugged her gratefully before we made our way back to the bar. We chatted for a while, and I shared my lunch with her, slicing my cheeseburger in half and letting her have most of my fries. After the meal was gone she said that she needed to get back to school because her free period was almost over.

'High school? Why are you in high school?' I asked, confused.

She looked at me for a moment, and I could tell that she was deciding whether or not she could trust me with the truth before she eventually settled on honesty.

'I've spent most of my immortal life running, so being able to do something _normal_ for a change is… nice.' She admitted, looking down as if she was expecting me to judge her. I reached forward and squeezed her hand, giving her a soft smile when she looked up to meet my eyes.

'Well in that case, have fun. I hope you get the full experience.' I said to her, genuinely meaning it, she seemed to notice this and smiled brightly as she did.

'Thank you.' She squeezed my hand back before letting go and making her way out of the grill. I was sipping the little that remained of my drink as I looked around, wondering what I could do now, so far it had been a normal drama free day, and as if the universe heard my private thoughts, my phone rang. I checked the caller I.D. before I answered it.

'Hey Elena, what's up?' I asked.

'Stefan's turned his humanity off.' She replied, her voice curt, but I could tell by the croakiness of her voice that she had been crying.

'What? It's only been a day!' I responded, pissed.

'I know; Klaus called him this morning while we were in history, he answered and he must have told him to do it again, and this time Stefan did it. I literally saw the emotion fade from his face. Now he's been acting like a complete jackass all day.' Elena said, her voice echoing making me think she was in the girl's bathroom.

'Do you want me to come and get you?'

'No, I just wanted to tell you, encase you ran into him. The day's nearly over now. I'll be fine.' She said, her voice insistent.

'Okay, but call me if he does anything, okay?'

'I will, I promise. I love you.' She said, I said it back before I clicked off the phone, huffing in frustration. I went to put my phone down when I noticed that Klaus' name was in my favourites list making me frown; I had definitely not put it there. Even more annoyed I clicked ring, not thinking about what I was doing, when I got his voicemail I wondered if he was ignoring me or if he had genuinely missed my call.

'Listen here, buddy. You have seriously, pissed me off and are continuing to do so without even being here! Telling Stefan to turn of his humanity? Well done, it's a very good idea to have an unstable, emotionless vampire protecting Elena. So, yeah, I'm pissed off about that, not to mention the lovely bruises you left on my body when you went after my sister… _again!_ When you come back to Mystic Falls, asshole, you are in for a rude awakening. Mark. My. Words.' I hung up the phone, glad that I had been able to get some of my anger out, even if it was to his voice mail.

I paid my tab and left the grill, but when I got outside I didn't know where I wanted to go. I felt completely helpless; Stefan had turned off his humanity, but what could I do? How could I protect Elena from that? Seeing him completely emotionless was going to destroy her, I just _knew_ it. With him being ordered to protect Elena, he wouldn't hurt her physically but I was sure he wouldn't care about her emotional stability. She had already been without him all summer, hoping for him to come home and now that he finally was, it was going to be like he was a different person.

While I had been lost in my thoughts I had unconsciously made my way to the small park that was a five-minute walk from the grill. Since kids were still in school, I had the whole park to myself; I went over to one of the swings, lightly swinging myself back and forth. I felt… empty; it was like I had a whole where my heart was and it _hurt._ I felt the tears streaming down my face and I leant forward so that my hair cascaded over my expression, avoiding the curious stares of people who passed by. This wasn't the same as before; over the summer the hole that had been in my heart where my parents were hadn't been as painful, in fact I'd actually managed to grieve, accepting their deaths little by little until I was able to think about them without wanting to cry. But now I felt like I was missing my _whole_ heart, and I was aware of how dramatic it sounded, and I hated it. I didn't know why, I didn't know what was wrong with me but I did know that I needed to pull myself together. Elena was going to need me, knowing her she was going to have a plan about how to fix Stefan and I needed to be focused. With that thought in mind, I wiped the tears from my face and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my chest. I didn't know why I was suddenly feeling this way, so I didn't know how to stop it and therefore I refused to focus on something I didn't know how to fix.

I eagerly looked to my phone when it vibrated in my jacket pocked and was greeted with a text from Elena.

 _Elena: We're going to try and lock Stefan up. Can you help?_

 _Me: I don't know how, but anything I can do I'll try._

 _Elena: Great, we're all meeting at the school in the history classroom in thirty minutes._

 _Me: I'm on my way._

I put my phone away and walked back to my car, only then registering how dark it had gotten, I must have been sitting there for hours. But it made sense; whenever I needed to sort through my feelings I took my time, and hardly noticed time ticking by until I had come to a solution. This time I had decided to ignore the problem, which in all honesty probably wasn't the best solution that I had ever come up with, but in that moment I just didn't care.

I reached the High School twenty minutes later and had to force the memories of me being held prisoner there just the night before far away from the forefront of my mind. I made myself keep walking, past the lockers that Klaus had thrown me against, past Elena's locker where he had watched and waited for me to come back. When I finally reached the history classroom I had to bite back my sigh of relief as I noticed that everyone was already there- I needed the distraction.

'Are you ok?' Elena asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

'Yeah I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?' I said, forcing a smile and I continued talking before she could answer my question, 'what's the plan?'

'I'm going to lure Stefan away from the bonfire, and when he's distracted, Alaric is going to shoot him. Then we're going to lock Stefan up in the old Forbs jail cell…' Elena trailed off as she looked over to Caroline for conformation.

'I'll make sure it's prepped and ready.' Caroline said, nodding for emphasis.

'We're forgetting a key player here, Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blonde ponytail seems to follow.' Damon muttered from his place leaning against a desk in the front row.

'That's why you're going to distract her.' Elena said.

'How? She's an Original and last I checked we were fresh out of daggers.' Damon muttered.

'Use your charm.' Elena's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Normally I would have laughed but, honestly I just felt numb, I was waiting for Elena to fill me in on my part of the plan, but everything seemed to be covered and I honestly didn't know what she was going to ask me to do.

'Kim could you be ready in Ric's car for when we bring Stefan over? We need to move fast, because with human blood in his system it won't take him long to bonce back from the injection of vervain.'

'Yeah sure, no problem.' I said, catching the keys that Ric threw in my direction. I passed Tyler on my way out; I didn't know what was going to happen but I had a bad feeling that this wasn't going to work but I refused to say anything. I could feel how badly Elena needed to try _something_ because she couldn't face the idea of having to deal with no-humanity Stefan on a daily basis. Which I couldn't blame her for; from what I'd heard humanity-less Stefan was a dick. I opened the door to Ric's car and got into the drivers seat, adjusting it so that I could actually reach the pedals. Once I was satisfied I sat back with a sigh and turned the radio on to fill the silence. I was desperately trying to keep myself distracted, but I was running out of options. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I pulled it out, expecting it to be Elena, but the name I saw made my heart stop, before it picked up and started to beat twice as fast.

'Hello?'

'Hello, love.' Klaus said; I could hear the anger in his voice and for whatever reason that made me grin.

'Oh, you're mad at me. Well at least I answered the phone, I mean I could have let you go to voicemail…'

'Love, I can assure you I was indisposed when you called.' I could hear him smirking now.

'Well I'm still mad at you.' I muttered down the phone.

'I gathered that from your voicemail.' He said, his tone teasing.

'I'd be worried if you didn't, I was very detailed.' I muttered, smiling when I heard his chuckle.

'Yes, love you were. Now how did you put it…' he paused as if he was trying to remember, 'when you come back to Mystic Falls, asshole, you are in for a rude awakening. Mark. My. Words.'

'Yep, that sounds about right.' I replied.

Klaus laughed, 'that's it? Love, your voicemail gave me the impression that this call was going to result in me getting my ear chewed off.'

That made me pause… why wasn't I shouting at him? Why was it that as soon as I'd heard his voice the pain in my chest for the first time that day had quelled into almost nothing, and the fire that had burned up inside of me this afternoon when I'd made that call to him and extinguished? Then the tiny voice in the back of my mind spoke up and answered my question; _you miss him._ No. No I didn't, I couldn't- I was mad at him. I couldn't miss him.

'It's been a long day, Klaus. This is all I've got, I'll leave you an angry voicemail tomorrow.' I murmured, feeling the day catch up with me; no sleep last night plus an emotionally draining day meant I was exhausted.

'How are you, love?' Klaus asked, sounding like he genuinely wanted to know.

'I've been better,' I admitted, 'what about you?'

'I've been better.' He replied, making me smile.

'I am still mad at you, you know.' I reminded him encase he had forgotten from when I had last told him thirty seconds ago.

'Oh, love I know.' He replied and I could feel him smirking again.

I opened my mouth to reply but stopped when I saw Elena and Ric dragging Stefan in my direction, 'I'm gonna have to go, Elena needs something. I'll talk to you soon.'

'I'll hold you to that, love.' Klaus responded before he hung up, when I heard the dial tone the aching in my chest made itself known again and I cursed silently to myself as I flung open the passenger side door for Elena. I didn't feel whole because Klaus wasn't here. There, I had admitted it to myself. It was ridiculous and stupid and impossible. But it was true. _I missed him._

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the car suddenly went up in flames.

'What the-?' I broke off, I tried to open my door but it wouldn't budge. I looked over to see that Elena was in the passenger seat and Ric was in the back with and unconscious Stefan.

'The door won't open!' I shouted, I reached around looking for something to try and break the windows; I found a stake but as many times as I tried to smash the glass it wouldn't work.

'Try and wake up Stefan, we need his supernatural strength right now.' I shouted back to Ric as I lifted Elena's shirt and made her breathe through the fabric.

It all happened so fast; one minute I was wondering if we actually were going to make it out of this alive, even though I _knew_ we weren't going to die, and the next Stefan woke up and kicked open the trunk, allowing us all to climb out to safety before the whole car exploded in flames. Elena, Stefan and Ric got a ride from Damon; they went to the boarding house to get some treatment for the minor burns they had gained, and seeing as I somehow made it away burn free, I drove my car home, showered, changed into my pyjamas and got into bed. I was lying there for a few hours, not falling asleep despite my exhaustion and it was because the aching in my chest was becoming more known than ever, it wouldn't stop and I was starting to get annoyed. _I needed to sleep_. My mind drifted back to how the aching had stopped when I was on the phone to Klaus and I briefly considered calling him and asking him to talk to me until I fell asleep but I dismissed that idea almost as soon as I'd had it; I would never live it down. But I did have another idea; I threw the covers off me and made my way to the unpacked duffel from over the summer. Klaus had asked me to store a few of his shirts in my duffel bag after the one him and Stefan had been sharing had become overloaded when they had first tried to fit all that his minions had gathered for him and Stefan into one bag. I hadn't minded and had happily volunteered seeing as I didn't have to share my duffel with anyone at the time. Eventually it just became habit for him to hand over his worn shirts to me sometimes and I would store them away until they would have to be laundered. I unzipped the side compartment that I usually put his shirts into and was relieved when I was greeted with two shirts he had already worn, meaning they still smelt like him. I pulled one out and brought it to my face, inhaling and I immediately felt a sense of calm wash over me as well as the pain in my chest lessening to a bearable level. Trying to ignore the fact that I my actions might be perceived as creepy or odd by Klaus himself, I got into bed, placing his shirt by my head. I was so happy to feel the familiar darkness consume me that I could feel the smile on my face as I dove into unconsciousness… _finally._

 **There's chapter twelve for you! I liked writing this chapter and also hated it. I liked writing it because you get to see for the first time how much Kim cares for Klaus, despite her best efforts. I hated it because I'm also missing Klaus and will be for the next few chapters… I might just have to add in a phone call here and there ;) Let me know what you think!**

 **Would like to say a huge thank you to Ishtar97 and lili316 for either following or choosing to favourite my story- it means a lot!**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: OMG! Already a new chapter XD Brilliant! I love this chapter! Huge Kim/Klaus Fan, can't wait for more :D Have a nice day!xxx**_ **Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it and I'm SO happy that your loving the story as well as Kim and Klaus together! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too, and I hope you also have a nice day! :)**


	13. Ghost World

Chapter Thirteen

'Oh come on, the limit is fifty!' I shouted, even though the driver in front of me who was currently doing twenty couldn't hear me. I huffed in annoyance and turned up the radio to try and distract myself from my annoyance, encase I ended up doing something stupid. I was on my way to the boarding house, hoping to talk to Damon about what we were going to do about the whole Stefan with no humanity problem. I had stopped off at Bonnie's first to ask her to do me a favour; I asked her to spell the shirts that Klaus had left behind so that they wouldn't lose their scent. Because I'd actually been able to get some sleep last night with Klaus' shirt on my pillow, and if that was the solution I didn't want to lose it when the scent faded. Though I had lied to Bonnie and told her they were my dad's; I didn't think she'd judge me or anything like that but honestly, I was having a hard time accepting that those were the measures I was having to take to get some sleep, and admitting it aloud would make it more real and I didn't know how I would handle it.

I cheered as the grandma in front of me finally turned down a side road, allowing me to put my foot down and get to the boarding house at a much more sensible rate. When I put the car in park in the driveway, I focused on the emotions coming from the house and I could feel _pain._ Without another thought, I pulled off my seatbelt and rushed into the house, taking the pain as I went.

'Damon? Stefan? Is someone-' I cut off as I rounded the corner and the living room was brought into view. Damon was strapped to a chair with chains and he had an iron poker in his chest, knowing he wasn't in pain anymore; I couldn't resist snapping a picture with my phone, laughing as I did.

'Do you mind? A little help here!' Damon demanded, irritation clouding his tone.

'What, did your BDSM partner get bored and leave you?' I joked, putting my phone in my back pocket as I waked over to him.

'Ha. Ha. You're hilarious.' Damon's voice dripped with sarcasm as well as the anger he was trying to keep at bay.

'So I'm told' I said, my voice bright as my hand grasped the poker in his chest, I focused, ready to take his pain, before I yanked it out in one swift movement. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out at the pain in my abdomen, pain that he should be feeling, thankfully it faded away to something more manageable soon after. I looked up to Damon when I felt his surprise; I narrowed my eyes at him in question.

'Why didn't that hurt?' He asked, studying my expression as if it would tell him the answer.

'Maybe it hurt so much the first time that you're numb to it?' I suggested sweetly, continuing before he could question me further, 'I'm not going to be much help getting those off.' I gestured to the chains that were keeping him in the chair.

'Be a doll and get Stefan, would you?' Damon asked.

I rolled my eyes and started shouting, 'STEFAN! STEFAN, I'M IN DANGER AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT ME, STEFAN!'

This time Damon rolled his eyes and gave me a look before sarcastically muttered, 'don't you think I could have done that?'

'Don't worry, I'm sure the blood loss accounts for your lack of bright ideas today, princess' I winked at him and laughed when he glared at me for using his nickname for me against him.

'You called?' Stefan said as he strolled into the living room, I turned to him and noticed his amusement at Damon's current predicament.

'Don't worry, I took a picture, I'll send it to you.' I said, making Stefan laugh out loud.

'Yes, it's all very funny, could you be a dear and help a brother out?' Damon muttered.

'What the hell happened to you?' Stefan asked as he walked over, snapping the chains, once he'd contained his laughter.

'Whatever twisted ripper game you're playing, leave me out of it.' Damon huffed as he tried to stand, I offered him my hand and he took it, able to get to his feet.

'I didn't do this.' Stefan said, and I could tell he was in fact telling the truth, 'It's pretty messed up though, isn't it?'

'Yup,' Damon muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

'Well I'm out of here.' Stefan said, leaving the room without another word.

'So who do you-' I started but I was cut off when the curtains opened by themselves and Damon started screaming; I took his pain but I had grab onto the armchair for support. Damon flashed over to the other side of the room and picked up his ring and put it on, and as quick as it had happened, his pain disappeared and I sighed in relief.

'What the hell just happened?' I said, trying to breathe through the last bit of pain I had taken as it settled.

'Let's just say, I'm having a bad sense of déjà vu.' Damon muttered, grabbing my hand and pulling me from the house. He told me to meet him at the Grill; he had an errand to run first. I knew it would have something to do with the whole poker and chains incident, and I wondered if something had gone wrong when Bonnie had blocked Vikki's connection last night. Elena had filled me in this morning; apparently Ric's car caught fire because Vikki had made a deal with a witch on the other side- she could come and go as she pleased but in exchange she promised to kill the doppelgänger so that Klaus couldn't make any more hybrids. She had manipulated Matt into doing some kind of ritual to make it happen; when I had found out about it I felt bad for them both, Matt had to say goodbye to his sister and Vikki lost her connection to her brother. One thing was for sure though; whomever the witch on the other side was she definitely had it out for Klaus, and with how much of a dick he could be I wasn't that surprised.

But if whatever Bonnie had done to send her away had somehow made it so all ghosts were able to have physical contact with us then it needed to be fixed. As far as I was aware I didn't have any enemies on the other side, but I was sure my friends did, in fact I _knew_ they did, and Damon's situation this morning was just one example of that. I parked in front of the bar and noticed Elena, Ric and Jeremy sitting at a table out front. I decided to talk for them for a bit seeing as I didn't know how long Damon was going to be.

'Hey family.' I said brightly as I took the spare seat, making Jeremy give me a weird look, I could feel his annoyance and I frowned at him, 'what's that look for? Am I sitting on your dead girlfriend?' I asked, actually standing back up, I could feel Jeremy's surprise and I reached over to another table and grabbed another chair, pulling it up to the table.

'Better?' I asked, Jeremy nodded, smiling softly and I looked over to the chair, 'sorry Ana, I didn't mean to be rude.'

I could feel Elena and Ric looking at me like I was crazy but I didn't care; I couldn't even imagine being on the other side and having no one to talk to, not to mention literally being invisible. She must have felt so _lonely._

'She says don't worry about it.' Jeremy said, glancing over to me after Ana had finished talking, I just sent a wink in the direction of the empty seat before I noticed the journals on the table and looked over to Elena for an explanation.

'I was asking Jeremy if he could contact Lexi. Every time he's turned it off in the past she was the one to bring him back.' Elena explained.

'Okay so you think if you find her she can give you a crash course in restoring a vampire's humanity?' I asked.

'Basically, but Jer said he hasn't seen her and because he didn't know her it would be much more difficult to get in contact with her.' Elena sounded defeated and I sent a comforting wave in her direction before looking to Jeremy as he stood.

'I'll catch you guys later.' He said.

'Bye Jer, bye Ana.' I called out, ignoring the questioning looks of people around us seeing as Jeremy was the only one they could see walking away.

'Don't give up hope, Elena. Stefan will turn his humanity on again, I _know_ he will, but it's definitely going to take time.' I said, kissing her temple before I stood and went into the Grill, ordering myself a whiskey. I hoped that they continued not to I.D. me seeing as I was going to be twenty-one soon anyway; November was only weeks away.

'Feeling better, princess?' I asked Damon as he took a seat next to me, he glared at me for a moment, making me grin before he turned back to the person he was talking to, I looked around him and saw that it was Ric.

'Ah! But remember when you used to like me and we conspired to kill big bad werewolf Uncle Lockwood?' Damon asked, his tone sarcastic as he signalled for a drink.

'Yes, and?' Ric said, clearly annoyed.

'I think he's still pretty pissed.' Damon's voice actually sounded a little concerned as to what he was going to next, when I focused on it though I realised he was afraid to Alaric. Which was fair enough; Damon had woken up with a poker through his chest and tied to a chair, if Mason was looking for revenge, who knew what he would do to Ric, the one without a supernatural healing ability?

'So you think that's who attacked you last night?' I said as I sipped my whiskey.

'Yup. The set up was exactly the same as when I was torturing the Uncle wolf for information about the moonstone and Katherine.' He downed his whiskey, I could feel how nervous he was but he was clearly determined to hide it behind his arrogance and sarcasm.

'Well then… you can't really blame him. An eye for an eye, right?' I snorted when Damon glared at me and I heard Ric laugh as well, but everyone froze when Mason Lockwood walked up to the bar, smiling.

'Am I hallucinating?' I wondered aloud, genuinely confused as to what the hell was going on.

Mason grinned at my comment and walked forward, making a move to grab my whiskey, but I grabbed his wrist stopping him. He frowned at me, about to say something threatening, probably, but his mouth snapped shut when I gestured for another double whiskey and handed it to him.

'It's not everyday you re-join the living, you deserve your own glass.' I explained, picking my own up off the bar before clinking it against his. Before I had left town Mason and I hadn't exactly been best friends, but I could sense the loneliness on him; the least I could do was buy the man a drink.

He grinned at me before downing his glass in one go, moaning in pleasure when he swallowed, which I couldn't blame him for; whiskey was good stuff.

'God, I miss whiskey.' He muttered, almost talking to himself.

'You mean to tell me that there's no whiskey on the other side?' I asked, genuinely horrified.

Mason laughed but nodded in answer to my question, I felt my jaw drop in disbelief and Mason continued to laugh at my expression, which was very rude if you asked me; I had just found out that I would be without whiskey when I died and he was laughing at me!

'Listen, not to break up your weird little conversation, but if you're here for revenge you're going to have to get in line.' Damon muttered, clearly unhappy about being ignored, which made me roll my eyes.

Mason responded by breaking the glass over Damon's head, the shards embedding into his skull and making a crimson wave pour down his forehead. I winced and made a move to take his pain but Mason stopped me with a look, I frowned in confusion wondering how he knew.

'I saw it this morning. You were the one cringing in agony, when it should have been him. Trust me, with everything he did to me, he deserves to at least feel a little pain.' Mason said, giving me a look that told me not to mess with him, with a sigh I complied.

I looked over to Damon, about to offer to remove the shards in his head but when I saw how he was looking at me I stopped short. He was surprised and grateful at the same time, that much I could sense. But his expression was appreciative for a brief moment before he replaced it with shock, which I assumed was because it was a lot less vulnerable.

'That was you?' Damon asked me.

I didn't say anything; I just moved my ass up onto the actual bar so that I could reach his head to remove the glass better. He gave up questioning me when I didn't respond, wincing a little every now and then when I pulled out a piece that was particularly embedded into his skin.

'So, what do you want?' Damon asked, turning his gaze back to Mason as I gave his head one last glance before I confirmed it glass free, throwing the shards of glass that I had collected on a napkin into the trash.

'I want an apology.' Mason said simply.

Ric and I burst out laughing at the same time, sharing a look of amusement while we pictured Damon Salvatore offering an _apology._

'Good luck with that. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what an apology is,' Ric said, sipping his drink with an annoyed look on his face. I assumed that meant that Damon hadn't apologised to Ric for snapping his neck for no reason at the founder's party.

'Don't you have a family to haunt? You know your nephew has turned into a mindless hybrid Minion.' Damon deflected, trying to change the subject.

'That's why I'm here. To help Tyler.' Mason said.

'Well, sorry to break it to you, buddy, but Tyler can't be helped. At least not while Klaus is alive. Which is, like, always.' Damon replied, his tone snarky.

'Not necessarily. Not if you got your hands on a weapon that could kill him,' Mason said, the smugness in his voice making it clear that he definitely knew something.

'You have a weapon that can kill Klaus?' I asked, trying to hide the fact that the pain in my chest was more prominent than ever, 'Original hybrid, Klaus?' I asked, desperate for him to be lying, even though I knew he wasn't.

He nodded, smiling when Damon spoke, 'what do you know?' he demanded.

'That you need to apologize.' Mason smiled.

'You gotta be kidding me!' Damon muttered.

'Are you incapable of remorse? Just apologize!' Ric shouted from the other side of Damon, clearly aggravated.

'You're right. I didn't have to kill you. Sometimes I do things I don't have to do.' Damon said.

I stared at the side of his head, waiting for him to actually say the words 'I'm sorry' but I laughed when I realized that was all he was going to say; Mason laughed too, but Ric just looked shocked at Damon's lack of an apology. Mason patted Damon's shoulder, still laughing.

'Good enough.' Mason said, amusement still apparent in his voice, 'meet me at the old Lockwood cellar.' His eyes flickered between me and Ric before they settled on Damon again, 'come alone and bring a shovel.' He said as he made his way to the door.

'What you're going to bury me alive?' Damon shouted after him.

'Don't tempt me.' Mason shouted over his shoulder before he pulled the Grill's door open and he was gone.

'Do you think he's telling the truth?' Ric asked, looking between Damon and me.

'I _know_ he is.' I said, reluctantly; I didn't know how I felt about the idea of Klaus being dead, but I was pushing the emotions firmly down as I tried to remain present in the conversation.

'Well then, looks like I'm going on a trip to the old Lockwood cellar.' Damon muttered, sarcastic enthusiasm clouding his voice before he finished his drink and stood up.

'Have fun!' I shouted after him, chuckling when he flipped me off, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and was surprised to see a few text messages from Elena.

 _Elena: Turns out something got screwed up when Bonnie cast the spell to send Vikki back. The witch who helped her from the other side did something to open the door; Bonnie needs my necklace to put it back._

 _Elena: Can you meet me in the old city jail cells?_

 _Me: Sure, on my way now._

I waved goodbye to Ric and made my way over to where Elena had requested that I meet her, when I got there I'll admit I was a little freaked out, especially when I heard a man screaming. I reached out, trying to sense pain but it confused me when I didn't find any pain to take, but I could feel panic. I rounded the corner and saw Stefan tied to a chair with a slender, pretty woman with long blonde hair leaning in his face, her hands resting on the arms of the chair. Elena was standing slightly behind her, looking troubled with her arms crossed over chest as she watched what she was doing to him.

'What the hell is this?' I asked, more than a little confused.

The blonde stood up and looked over to me, a genuine smile on her face almost as if she knew me, but I didn't recognize her.

'I'm Lexi. If Damon hadn't killed me, I'm sure we would be the best of friends.' She said, holding out her hand for me to shake.

'Kim, though I have a feeling you already knew that.' I replied with a wink, making her laugh, 'I like you.' I murmured; I got a good feeling from her.

'I like you too; I've seen you get these guys out of trouble more than once. It's impressive.' Lexi said, looking at me like she was in awe, it made me uncomfortable.

'I do my best' I shrugged and then looked over to Stefan, 'so I'm assuming that this has something to do with getting his humanity back?'

'Yup. I'm currently in his head, making him think he's starving. As you can tell by his screams he's at five years with no blood.' She made her way back over to stand in front of Stefan.

'Interesting tactic.' I murmured as I watched her work, where my expression was curious, Elena's was nauseated. I sent a comforting wave towards her and I was glad when her queasiness seemed to ease a little.

'Yours was better. I saw what you did at the school.' Her expression, like mine, was one of curiosity.

'Well then you would have seen me freak out when I couldn't stop it.' I muttered, looking over to Stefan when his screams suddenly stopped.

'Yeah, but still it was impressive. Once you learn to control it you'll be quite the weapon.' Lexi replied, her tone a matter of fact.

' _If_ I learn to control it, currently the only thing that can bring me back is-'

'Klaus.' Lexi interrupts, finishing my sentence, I nodded in answer.

'Yeah, lets not talk about him.' I muttered, leaning against the wall of the cell, crossing my arms over my chest, and trying to ease the way that my chest hurt substantially more whenever he was mentioned.

'Yeah we wouldn't want to make things awkward by mentioning all the hybrid sex you two have been having.' Stefan muttered, his tone bitter.

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to get a rise out of me, 'I don't know who your trying to piss off, Stefan but Elena already knows and I'm assuming Lexi does too if she was at the school that night. But nice try.' I winked at him, pleased when he growled in aggravation.

'That's another thing we need to go over,' Lexi looked over to Elena, 'you have to separate yourself from your emotions. Don't let him play on them.'

As if on cue Stefan looked over to Elena, a pleading look replacing the pissed expression that had been there a moment before.

'Please, Elena. Make it stop it hurts. It hurts so much.'

I snorted, bringing his attention to me, 'could you be any more obvious?'

He looked back to Elena, pretending that I hadn't even spoken, 'Elena, I love you okay. I love you so much. Please let me out and we can be together, just like we used to be.'

I could feel Elena's heart wanting to hope, but I could also feel her reluctance to believe his act, much to my relief.

'I'm sorry, Stefan. I just don't believe you.' Elena said, her voice emotionless.

'You know what? I don't want your help, anyway. I wish I'd never met you. Every single moment that I've spent with you has been a complete and total waste.' Stefan growled out. I could feel Elena's pain at his words and I took it, refusing to let him make her feel that way.

'You see that? That's the ripper talking. Once he's weak enough, you have to cause him pain. Make him feel things. Anger, rage, anything. You have to make him see past the blood.' Lexi said her tone a matter of fact as she stabbed the stake into Stefan's stomach again, ignoring him as he cried out in pain.

She withdrew the stake and continued talking, 'think of it as a regimen. Day in and day out. Like running the treadmill. Like making coffee. Until he's ready to be saved.'

'I will rip you apart Lexi!' Stefan shouted.

'Aw, honey you can't. I'm already dead.' She smiled, stabbing him again.

'I can't…' Elena murmured, walking to the door. I could feel that she needed a moment, so I sent her a comforting wave but otherwise stayed where I was.

'She'll be okay. She just needs to adjust.' I assured Lexi when I felt the concern coming from her; I sent her a wave of reassurance and pulled out my phone when it continued to vibrate, indicating I was getting a call. I looked at the caller I.D. and just like yesterday, my heart stopped for a moment before it started to beat twice as fast. I put the phone up to my ear, making my way out to the hallway, even though the two vampires would be able to hear the conversation anyway.

'Hello, who's this?'

'Well aren't you hilarious?' Klaus said, though I could feel that he was smiling.

'That's what I'm told. I have several, reliable informants who have confirmed my hilarity to be a fact.'

'Really? Well then I wouldn't want to mess with your reliable informants.' Klaus said, his voice soothing the aching in my chest.

'Definitely not.' I grinned.

'So, how are you today love?' He asked, I heard something slam in the background and wondered what it was.

'Eh I don't think I'll ever have a drama free day ever again.' I muttered, smiling when I heard him chuckle.

'No, probably not.' He agreed.

'What about you? How drama filled has your day been on a scale of one to five?'

'A solid three. Nothing I can't handle, though.' He said, and I knew he was smirking.

'Are you ever not smirking?' I joked, rolling my eyes when he laughed.

'Are you even not rolling your eyes?' He asked.

'Touché.' I said, laughing with him.

'Sorry to cut this short love, but I'm going to have to go. I'll talk to you soon.' Klaus murmured.

'Okay, bye.' I replied, hanging up the phone, trying not to wince when the pain in my chest made itself known again as soon as his voice was gone from my ear. Elena made her way back to the tunnel and stopped in front of me, snapping me out of my trance.

'Hey, what are you doing out here?' Elena asked.

'Klaus called.' I answered her honestly, knowing that Stefan would happily use it against me if he heard me lie.

'Are you okay?' Her voice was sympathetic and I knew that she was still hung up on the whole mates thing. Personally I was in denial, he couldn't be my mate… right? I had already admitted that I missed him but admitting that he could be my mate was a whole other ball game.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay? You took off out of here pretty fast.' I attempted to move the attention from me.

'Drama with the necklace.' She dismissed, not addressing what I was actually asking her about, I linked my arm through hers as we made our way back into the cellar.

'Stop fighting me, Stefan. I know you're in there.' Lexi insisted, stabbing him with the stake again.

'Not this time, Lexi,' Stefan grinds out.

'You say that every time. Until I make you feel again.' Lexi smiled sweetly, stabbing him with the stake again.

'You wasted your whole life taking care of me. Do you seriously have nothing better to do now that you're dead?' Stefan shouted, trying to get a rise out of her.

'We're running out of time.' Elena said, breaking Stefan and Lexi out of their stare down.

'What? No! You gotta get me more.' Lexi said, suddenly panicked, I sent her a comforting wave, trying to calm her.

'I can't they have the necklace, they're going to close the door.' Elena said.

'The necklace,' Lexi turned back towards Stefan, 'at least tell me you remember the necklace. You found it at your darkest time and when you made it through you said that that necklace represented hope.'

'Ironic, then, that it's about to be blown to pieces.' Stefan muttered, not bothered in the slightest.

'He's still in there. You just have to break through.' Lexi said, her voice pleading.

'It's okay, Lexi. We know what to do now, you can be free.' I said, sending her a comforting wave, she smiled, looked to Stefan and then disappeared.

'Can you leave me alone with him?' Elena asked.

I gave her a soft smile before I hugged her and kissed her temple, 'call me if you need me.' I said on my way out of the door.

'I will! Love you!' Elena shouted after me.

'Love you too!' I called back.

When I got to my car, I decided to text Damon and see if he was still alive, seeing as I hadn't heard from him since he left to meet Mason earlier.

 _Me: Hey, you still alive?_

 _Damon: Sorry to disappoint, but yes I am._

 _Me: Boo. Shame._

 _Damon: You're hilarious._

 _Me: That is a popular comment today I must say._

 _Me: So did Mason actually give you anything or what?_

 _Damon: Don't know, whatever it is is locked in a room that vampires can't enter._

 _Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA_

 _Me: That's hilarious._

 _Damon: Shut it_

 _Me: Do you need help vampy?_

 _Damon: Nah, it's fine; I called Ric he's on his way._

 _Me: Cool. Let me know what you find._

 _Damon: Will do, princess._

I rolled my eyes at the nickname making a comeback but made my way home when he said he didn't need the help. I showered, brushed my teeth, grabbed one of the now spelled shirts and made my way to bed. It was only eight pm; I assumed that Jenna was still stuck at work and Jeremy was still with Bonnie because I was the only one in the house. I didn't give it any more thought though as I snuggled into Klaus' shirt, the scent calming me enough to allow me to fall into a deep sleep. I still had no idea how I felt about the whole weapon that can kill Klaus situation, but I did know that it could wait until morning.

 **There's chapter thirteen! I know this one is a little shorter, but honestly despite the fact that this is an action filled episode, Kim can't be everywhere at once, unfortunately. Let me know what you think!**

 **Huge thank you to JolieNoir96 and yazzy97 for choosing to either follow or favorite my story- it means a lot!**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: A with stars! :)**_ **Thank you, lovely! :)**


	14. Ordinary People

Chapter Fourteen

I stumbled for the third time, almost bringing Elena down with me as we made our way through the tunnels underneath the Lockwood property. We were supposed to be meeting Damon and Ric so that they could show us the weapon Mason had led him to yesterday. I was terrified over what it could possibly be, I hadn't had a particular feeling yet, so I didn't know if whatever it was would actually lead to Klaus' death. But I won't lie, I had been overcome with an intense amount of fear when I had imagined Klaus actually dying, as well as my chest throbbing as painfully as it had since he had been gone. After that, I decided to stop panicking about what I was going to do and just wait to see where my instincts would guide me, knowing that if I let my fear rule me, it would rule me blindly.

'Damn it. If I trip one more time I swear to _God.'_ I muttered, annoyed. Elena laughed, thinking I was hilarious; of course she was the one holding the flashlight so she was able to quite clearly see where _she_ was going.

I turned around when I felt Damon's presence approaching us, only to turn back around when he put his finger to his lips, a mischievous smile in his face. Knowing what he was going to do, I turned my head to face forward, pretending that I had just been casually glancing around.

'Elena!' Damon suddenly shouted, making Elena scream in fright and drop the flashlight onto the floor. Damon and I laughed at her reaction, laughing harder when she glared at us.

'Nice one.' I complimented Damon, lifting my hand up to give him a high five; he returned it, still grinning at Elena.

'You both suck.' Elena said, though her voice lacked conviction and she was fighting a smile.

'Come on you guys, stop acting like five year olds and get your asses down here!' Ric shouted from further down the tunnel.

'Alright grandpa we're coming' I shouted back, with one arm still linked with Elena's I turned, linking my other arm through Damon's dragging them both further down the tunnel with me. We only had to walk a few feet and we came to a doorway, which Damon couldn't pass through. I squeezed his arm as I let go of him and walked forward with Elena. Ric was standing in the middle of the room taking pictures of the wall; he had multiple camp lights on the floor illuminating the entire room. Elena walked to stand next to Ric while I walked closer to the walls. It was covered in drawings and symbols; at first glance it looked like they were drawn on with chalk, but at a closer inspection it was clear it had all been carved. It was incredible, I could practically feel how old these carvings were, and I knew in that moment that Mason had been telling the truth; these carvings were definitely linked to not just Klaus but the entire Original family.

'What is all of this?' Elena asked, staring at all of the drawings looking very overwhelmed.

'Well, as far as I can tell, it's a story. In simple, archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story. That right there, is the moon cycle. A man, a wolf.' Alaric said, pointing to different symbols on the wall as he spoke.

'A werewolf.' I mumbled.

'Yeah, it's the Lockwood Diaries, Pictionary-Style.' Damon muttered from the doorway, making me snort in amusement.

'I don't understand. I thought the Lockwood's came here with the Original Founders in the eighteen sixties?' Elena questioned.

'I don't know. Maybe the Lockwood's did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that.' Ric explained, looking confused himself.

'It gets better, show them Ric.' Damon muttered as I walked forward and placed my hand on a symbol on the wall, feeling drawn to it for some reason.

I could feel Ric's surprise and Damon's confusion before Ric continued, 'Names. They're not native. They're written in Runic, a Viking script.'

'Names?' I asked, my hand still gliding over the same symbol, wondering what it meant, I looked over to Ric to ask him but before I could he continued.

'The one you're touching now, it translates to Niklaus.' Ric said, looking at me curiously.

My brows rose in surprise as I looked back to the symbol, wondering why I had been drawn to this one out of all the others. How had I known?

'And Rebekah and Elijah,' Alaric continued gesturing to the markings underneath.

I was about to ask if he knew what any of the other symbols meant when my vision suddenly went black and I made myself freeze, knowing what was about to happen. I closed my eyes and left my hand resting over Klaus' name, using the wall for support. A few moments later images flooded my brain, and I concentrated on what I was seeing.

 _I was stood in the same cave, except I was on the opposite wall, right by the doorway. There was a woman with a knife, carving into the wall and a man with shoulder-length blonde hair holding a burning torch as a source of light. I couldn't see their faces and I wondered if I would recognize them. I looked over their clothing and realized with a start that their clothes were very old fashioned; I must have been having a vision of the past, I was snapped out of my thoughts when the man started talking, his voice impatient._

' _Rebekah let me have at it!' He said, and I immediately knew who he and her were._

' _Hush, Niklaus I am to concentrate if I'm not to slice off a finger.' Rebekah replied, her voice seemingly bored with Klaus' attitude, which made me smile._

' _Father will not like you wielding a blade,' Klaus warned, clearly hoping that would change her mind and make her give up._

 _She paused briefly, looking over to him to glare before she returned to what she was doing, 'If I want to wield a blade, then I shall wield a blade! Father need not know.'_

' _He'll find out. He always does.' Klaus murmured, his voice barely audible as he looked to the wall briefly before he met Rebekah's gaze when she turned around to walk over to him._

' _That is because you always tell him.' Rebekah said, clearly annoyed._

 _Klaus' expression seemed to morph into one of fear and sorrow, 'I cannot help it. He frightens me.' He admitted, looking down as if he was ashamed of how he felt._

 _Rebekah's expression softened as she replied, 'he frightens us all. That is why we stick together as one, always and forever.' She paused and a teasing smile lit up her face, 'right traitor?'_

 _Klaus met her gaze and returned her smile, 'right.'_

 _Rebekah held the knife out to him, 'you finish here. I am to help mother with dinner.'_

 _Klaus moved to rest the torch against the cave wall holding out his other hand for the knife, his gaze on the wall as he spoke, 'yes, go tend to dinner, and leave the blades to the men, little sister.' Klaus smirked, making me shake my head at his sexist remark._

 _Rebekah slammed the blade into his palm, hard enough to make him bleed._

' _Bekah!' Klaus exclaimed, pain in his voice._

' _It's just a little blood. Be a man about it.' Rebekah smirked before she turned and walked out of the doorway, right by where I was standing._

 _I looked over to Klaus as he continued carving, his actions fast and determined, making me fear he was going to lose himself a finger. Thankfully he didn't, and soon he was finished, standing back looking at the wall with a proud smile on his face. I could see the love for all his siblings on his face as he stared at the names for a moment longer before he pocketed his blade, grabbed his torch and left the cave._

'KIM!' Damon shouted, making me jump about a foot, moving my hand from the wall.

I looked over to him a frown firmly on my face, 'what?' I asked annoyed.

'What do you mean what? We've been shouting you for a good five minutes!' Damon said, his arms flailing around as he shouted at me. I rolled my eyes at him but my gaze softened when I met Elena's worried brown orbs.

'Sorry I was having a vision.' I admitted, knowing there would be no other reasonable explanation for it.

'A what?' Damon asked, genuinely shocked.

'A vision, I saw Rebekah and Klaus, carving the names into the wall. It must have been a long time ago; their clothes were really outdated.' I said, confused myself.

'Since when do you have visions?' Damon asked, clearly not ready to let this go.

'Since I'm half Prophet and half Empath.' I told him honestly, figuring he deserved to know, 'keep it to yourself though, yeah? The fewer people that know the better.'

Damon stared at me for a moment, clearly trying to process my words before his face lit up in realization, 'that's why I wasn't in any pain yesterday morning wasn't it?'

'Yup. I took it, just so you know it hurt like a bitch.' I mumbled, my gaze going back to the wall, not wanting to see his expression when he started to rant about how he could have handled it.

'Why did you do it?' Damon asked, surprising me, I looked over to him and saw and felt the genuine wonder on his face.

'Because I could. Why should you have to feel the pain when there's something I can do about it?' I said with a shrug as if it was that simple. Damon was looking at me as if he was seeing me in a whole new light, admiration shining in his eyes before his mask was back up again.

'Thank you.' He mumbled, so low that I almost didn't hear him.

'Did the big bad Damon Salvatore just thank me?' I asked, pretending to be shocked for a moment, winking at Ric and Elena when they laughed, before I turned back to Damon with a genuine smile and replied, 'no worries.'

'Anyway… I thought you said you only had visions of the future?' Elena said, trying to bring the conversation back to the carvings.

'So did I. But the witch who told me what I was said that my gifts would interlink; maybe the emotions made an impression on the carvings and that triggered a vision?' I suggested, not really understanding myself.

'Do you think you could do it again?' Ric asked, looking over to me with curiosity shining in his eyes.

'I don't know; I think I got a vision from Klaus' name because I was drawn to it. Maybe I could see if I'm drawn to any others?' I suggested.

'Give it your best shot. You seeing what happened would be a lot quicker.' Damon muttered from the doorway.

'Don't be so impatient.' I said as I walked along the length of the room, three consecutive images standing out to me. The first was an image that looked almost like Elena's necklace with a body, the heart being the only part that was filled in, followed by a sun with fangs with a circle underneath, the last image was the first image again but upside down. I could feel the anger and pain coming from them and I knew that this wasn't going to end well.

I turned to everyone before I touched the wall, 'I have a bad feeling about this. Don't freak out if it takes me a while to come around, all right? I don't know how long this is going to take.' They all nodded and I turned back to the wall, taking a deep breath, my hand hovering over the wall for a moment before I pressed my hand against the cool stone. This time was much quicker; my vision faded almost immediately and I images soon filled my brain, transporting me somewhere else.

 _I was standing in what looked like a small village; the leaves were on the ground and the wind blew them all around, making me think it was autumn. I looked in front of me and saw Klaus talking to an older woman, who shared some resemblance to Rebekah, making me think that this was their mother. I saw that Klaus looked broken, destroyed whereas the older woman looked angry and ashamed._

' _Mother, please.' Klaus said, his voice was pleading, enough so that I actually walked forward to stand only a step away from being directly in between them._

' _I could never love you, Niklaus.' His Mother said her tone completely void of emotion. Klaus' expression was heartbreaking; the light in his eyes dimmed as tears pooled in his eyes, spilling over. I could feel tears falling down my own cheeks, but I refused to acknowledge them._

' _I am your child.' Klaus said, his tone and expression desperate, it made me want to hug him tightly and take away the pain his own mother was causing._

' _Niklaus, you are nothing but a reminder of my greatest shame. I will never love you, my child or not. You are nothing but an abomination.' She said, her voice dripping with venom and disdain._

 _I saw Klaus' expression drop in complete sadness before his whole face hardened in anger. So quickly that I may have missed it if I had blinked, he reached forward and ripped her heart from her chest. His Mother fell to her knees, her hands covering the gaping hole in her chest as she attempted to gasp for air with no success. The life faded from her eyes and she fell to her side, dead. I looked up to Klaus who was still holding her heart in his hand, the anger now gone and replaced with shock, shame and regret. He dropped the organ from his hand, looking to the crimson substance flowing between his fingers, his tears once again falling down his cheeks as he realized what he had done. Abruptly falling to the floor, he grasped his Mother's corpse as he apologized over and over again, clearly remorseful despite the horrid things she had said to him; things a mother should never say to her child. I fell to my knees beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, wanting to offer him comfort, but knowing that it wouldn't be possible. As my hand dropped to my side I accidentally came into contact with his Mother's body and suddenly I felt an unbearable pain in my chest, where my heart was. I got to my feet as my hands went to my abdomen, pulling them back to see my hand covered in blood; I fell backwards onto the forest floor._

I was suddenly pulled back to the present. I sat up, looking around me realizing that I was still in the cave, though it felt like it had been a long time since I was here.

'Kim? Are you all right?' Ric asked, placing a hand on my shoulder as he kneeled beside me. That was when I registered that I was on the floor; most likely I fell when I had in the vision. I stood up using the hand that Ric offered, and as I did I felt the pain in my chest again, not thinking I put my hand under my shirt, placing it over where my heart was. When I pulled it back, my hands were stained crimson. I looked to Ric in horror as I gasped, trying to breathe.

'Ric, get her over to me!' Damon shouted from the cave's doorway, his voice desperate. Ric complied and helped me over to the doorway, supporting most of my weight, he passed me into Damon's waiting arms and Damon wasted no time in biting into his wrist and offering me his blood. I drank until I could breathe again and rested my head against his chest as I tried to gather myself. Once I had, I pulled back, leaning against the nearest wall.

'What the hell happened?' Damon asked, looking genuinely concerned.

'Klaus ripped out someone's heart and I accidently touched that person and the next thing I know I'm the one who feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest.' I muttered, seriously freaked out.

'Okay, so next time you have a vision keep your hands to yourself.' Damon's tone is sarcastic as he tried to lighten the mood, but I could feel that he was still worried. I sent him a comforting wave without thinking about it.

'Stop that! You nearly died don't waste your energy on trying to calm me down!' Damon shouted, exasperated.

'Calm down, Damon. I'm fine, seriously.' I looked around, glad that Ric was convinced I was fine, but I noticed someone missing, 'where's Elena?'

'You were in there for a few hours. She went to Rebekah to see if she could get some pieces of the puzzle.' Ric answered.

I nodded as I went to walk back into the cave about to seek out any more drawings that stood out to me, when Damon caught my arm.

'What do you think you're doing?' He demanded.

I looked at him as if the answer was obvious, which it was, 'I'm going to see if I can get anything else. There's a name that's standing out to me. But it's one of the ones that hasn't been translated yet.'

'I don't care, you nearly died. You aren't going back in there, end of discussion.'

'Damon, I appreciate my concern but you aren't my handler. I make my own decisions and you know the only reason you care is because you're worried that Elena will hate you if I die on your watch.' I said, raising my eyebrow challengingly.

'Look, I don't say this to many people but I consider you a…' He paused as if what he was about to say was physically difficult for him, 'friend. And I can't let my friend walk into danger.'

'I'll be fine, if not I have some vampire blood handy.' I patted his arm in reassurance, 'I promise you I'll be fine, as long as I don't touch anything I'll remain an observer instead of having any kind of physical contact.'

Damon looked at me for a long moment before he reluctantly nodded and released my arm, letting me walk into the cave. I ignored Ric's surprise at Damon's actions and words and walked up to the name that was calling to me, preparing myself for what I was about to see.

 _I was standing in the same place that I had been in my previous vision, just a little deeper into the woods, further from the house. I could hear the clanking of metal and I looked to my right and saw Klaus and Elijah engaged in a sword match, which made me smile. I walked further forward; coming to a rest against one of the stumps that made up the circle they were dueling in. Rebekah ran over with a younger boy who was blonde, I heard her call him Henrik before they both stood at the opposite end of where I was, both of them watching Klaus and Elijah with amusement._

' _Ah look, our sister has arrived to witness my fast approaching victory.' Elijah exclaimed, a genuine smile on his face._

' _On the contrary, brother,' Klaus said as he swiftly knocked Elijah off balance and brought his sword down to slice off his belt, 'she's come to laugh at you!' Klaus finished as he joined in with his sibling's laughter; even Elijah had a reluctant smile on his face. I couldn't stop my own smile from forming as I witnessed them together so happy, carefree and normal. That was broken as soon as two adults approached; their Mother was hastily walking as she tried to keep up with an older man. He was tall, with dark hair, but he made me flinch away from him due to the intimidation and coldness that exuded from him._

' _Relax, Mikael. Niklaus meant well.' The Mother said with a panicked expression on her face, afraid of what he was going to do._

' _That, Ester, is precisely my problem,' Mikael answered back, walking over to Elijah and roughly taking his sword from him as he turned to face Klaus._

 _I looked over to Klaus and I could see the fear and dread in his expression; he looked like he was terrified as to what he was going to do and my heart hurt for him._

' _So why don't you teach me that trick, young warrior?' Mikael said, his voice dripping disdainfully as he moved his sword forward to connect with Klaus'. Klaus and Mikael fought for a few moments, the fun carefree atmosphere that was present a few moments before was now gone and destroyed; everyone who watched was scared for Klaus, including me. Klaus moved to the side, avoiding Mikael's sword as he attempted to strike him._

' _Father, please. We were just having fun.' Klaus tried to explain, but Mikael didn't hasten in his swing as his sword continued to move against Klaus'._

' _We fight for our survival! And you find time for fun? I want to have fun! Teach me! Come on!' Mikael shouted, his voice echoing throughout the woods, his tone making the hairs on my neck stand up in dread. Mikael disarmed Klaus effortlessly and pushed him to the floor, holding the blade to his throat; I instinctively took a step forward, as did Rebekah and Elijah._

' _You are foolish and impulsive, my_ _boy_ _. What? No more laughter?' Mikael sneered in his face, applying little pressure to the blade, making a thin line of blood appear in its wake._

' _You have made your point, Mikael. Enough.' Ester said, her voice stern. Surprisingly, Mikael listened and stood, throwing the sword to the ground, the blade imbedding in the earth only an inch away from Klaus' head, 'some days it's a miracle you're still alive, boy!' Mikael mocked as he walked away in the direction he had come, Ester following behind him with no hesitation. I shook my head, disgusted with them both before I looked over to the siblings that had congregated around Klaus. Their affection and care for each other was obvious and it warmed my heart; even if their parents were the immoral monsters they seemed to be, at least they still had each other._

I gasped as I returned to the present, taking a step back from the wall as my mind processed what I had just seen. Everything that I had seen so far just made my heart hurt for the Original family, especially Klaus. All I could feel was overwhelming empathy for him; I felt his fear, anger, sadness, and happiness in those moments as if the emotions were my own. After seeing Mikael with my own two eyes and seeing how he had treated his own _children_ I knew he was a monster and I didn't like the idea of him being the one to kill Klaus.

'Are you all right?' Damon asked, I turned and looked over to Damon, noticing that Ric was gone.

'Mikael is a bad idea.' I said, my voice unwavering.

'Yeah… about that,' Damon trailed off, his expression as well as his worry, convinced me that I was not going to like whatever he was about to say.

'What?' I demanded.

'Mikael is sort of already here…' He admitted, 'he cornered me and Stefan in a bar, threatened to rip my heart out unless we helped him to lure Klaus here.' Damon explained.

'What? How? How long was I in there for?' I demanded.

'Two hours. Ric stayed here while I was gone and he just took off when I got back. He told Elena about the whole Klaus ripping out someone's heart thing and she went to tell Rebekah. Apparently Klaus told her that Mikael did it.' Damon scoffed as if the idea of him doing that was cowardly, which pissed me off.

'Listen, you have no idea what I have just seen! Mikael and Ester are both pathetic excuses for parents. He ripped her heart out in a fit of rage when his own _Mother_ said that he was her greatest shame and an abomination. Of course he lied to Rebekah; he probably thought that she would hate him and seeing as his own siblings were the only ones who actually cared for him, I can't even _imagine_ how terrifying the thought of that must have been to him. And Mikael is a cold-hearted monster whose sole purpose seemed to be to make his own children fear him through emotional and physical torture. So yes, I can see why Klaus wouldn't want Mikael to come here and why he lied to his sister.' I shouted, my voice getting louder the angrier I got.

'Woah, okay calm down!' Damon said, looking genuinely afraid of me.

'I'm sorry, but I could feel everything that they felt. It makes it a little harder for me to side with the idea to bring in Mikael to kill Klaus. It's a bad idea Damon, he's a narcissistic bastard who cannot be trusted.' I said, my voice now much more calm.

'If I could take it back, I would but he's here now and he wants us to lead him to Klaus. It's either him or us, Kim.' Damon said, his voice soft.

I felt completely and utterly defeated, I didn't think Klaus deserved to die at all never mind in the hands of the man who tortured him for years as a child. He didn't deserve this, but then again neither did Stefan, Damon or Caroline. All of these people I felt my self caring about and yet, there was absolutely nothing I could do to help them. I couldn't kill Mikael; if he was Klaus' father that meant he was also an Original and therefore could only be killed with white oak. If I told Klaus what they were planning, he wouldn't come to Mystic Falls and Mikael would kill the vampire's here before he went to search for him himself.

'Come on. I'll take you home, you've been held up in here all day.' Damon said, his eyes concerned as he stared at me in a way that made me wonder how much of a mess I looked. I nodded and stepped out of the room, he hugged me, which surprised me for a moment before I returned it, grateful that he was offering me comfort despite the fact that I was worried for one of the people he considered an enemy. I pulled away after a moment, smiling to him in reassurance before I made my way to the exit and eventually to Damon's car. He filled me in on what had happened while I had been in there all day; him breaking Stefan out of purgatory, Mikael finding them, Elena telling Rebekah that Klaus had in fact killed their mother. I asked Damon to take me to the boarding house before he took me home, knowing that Rebekah would need a shoulder from someone she considered a friend.

As soon as the car was in park I jumped out of the car and let myself into the boarding house, finding Rebekah in the living room, sipping a glass of whiskey as tears poured down her face. I walked over to her without hesitation, pulling her to my chest, stroking her hair as she sobbed into my vest top. I kissed her hair every now and then, but otherwise just rocked her gently backwards and forwards, sending as much comfort towards her as I could. Eventually her breathing evened out as she cried herself to sleep, I didn't want to leave her where she was and I was grateful when Damon appeared in the doorway, I gestured for him to help me with her and with a roll of his eyes he complied. He picked her up bridal style, carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed in the room I assumed she had been staying in. I took off my jacket and shoes as well as Rebekah's shoes and laid next to her, continuing with the comforting waves, not wanting her troubles to follow her to her dreams.

For the first time that day I allowed my instincts to explore what Klaus being lured back to Mystic Falls for Mikael would mean for his fate. I almost cried in relief when I felt no dread or worry that would suggest he was going to die; instead I felt completely calm. Klaus wasn't going to die and neither was anyone I cared about and I wasn't going to tell a soul.

 **Chapter fourteen done and dusted! I hope you didn't find this chapter boring, but I actually enjoyed expanding on what being a hybrid means for Kim's powers :) Let me know what you think!**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: You've made my day! :) THX xx**_ **You make mine every time you leave me a lovey review, thank you to much :) xx**


	15. Homecoming

Chapter Fifteen

'Bekah, wake up!' I shouted, standing by her side of the bed with a mug of blood in my hands.

'Ugh, go away!' She muttered, throwing her pillow at me, I managed to dodge it and skilfully avoided spilling any of the crimson liquid.

'Come on, I've got your breakfast…' I tried to make it appealing by waving it by her head, hoping the smell of it would entice her like pancakes did with me.

With a groan, she sat up, leaning against the headboard as she took the mug from my hands, giving me a small grateful smile, which I returned before I perched beside her, fighting the yawn that wanted to break free; I hadn't planned on staying here last night, meaning I hadn't had one of Klaus' shirts, so I hadn't slept a wink.

'So… everyone's going to be up soon and probably putting together this whole kill Klaus plan, and I'm assuming that Mikael is going to be there for it.' I made my voice soft, hoping to lessen the fear that I knew would accompany her father's name. Sure enough fear came from her as well as regret for having any part in the plan to kill her brother.

'Hey, it's going to be okay. I'll be there the whole time, ready to move in front of you if he makes a wrong move, and if you're feeling anything other than completely calm I'll take care of that too.' I placed my hand on her knee, squeezing comfortingly.

Rebekah looked up from her mug to gaze at me with tears in her eyes. I could feel her surprise as well as her gratitude, 'I don't know what I did to deserve someone as amazing as you as my friend.' She murmured, tears streaming down her face.

'Don't be ridiculous.' I replied, embarrassed as I waved my hand dismissively, desperate for a subject change.

'No. You are more than aware of what my family is capable of… what my family has _done_ and yet you are still an incredible friend to me. Why?' She asked, sounding genuinely curious and a little apprehensive, which I hated; I didn't want her to think that my intentions with her were anything other than genuine because they weren't. I cared about her and I considered her a friend.

'Because, I don't judge people for what they have done, but who they are, and you are loyal, funny, kind and amazing. Those happen to be the kinds of things I look for in a friend.' I winked at her once I had finished speaking, hoping to lighten the mood, amazingly she grinned at me, which I returned before she pulled me into a hug.

'Right, no more tears. We need to get dressed!' Rebekah exclaimed. I blinked and she was gone from the bed, I looked around the room and noticed that the door on the far wall that led to the closet was now flung open and I made my way over, gasping when I saw that the closet was basically almost the size of the room I had just left. Rebekah was at the far end as she moved through the clothes on the hangers, apparently having trouble choosing something to wear.

'Bekah, do you mind if I borrow something?' I asked, glancing around a little nervously; so far I hadn't seen anything other than dresses and I wasn't really a dress kind of girl, unless it was against my will.

'Help yourself.' Rebekah replied, waving her hand to gesture to the closet before she continued flipping through all of the clothes. I started to flip through the hangers myself and was starting to lose hope that I would find something that _wasn't_ a dress when I found a row of shelves about half way down the room, _stacked_ with skinny jeans and T-shirts. I bit back my sigh of relief as I changed into some high waisted black skinny jeans, noticing they were a little loose but not drastically, and I paired the jeans with a baby blue plain t-shirt. I wore the same shoes I had yesterday; my navy high top converse. I made my way down stairs after I was dressed, leaving Rebekah to continue to look for an outfit seeing as she hadn't found one she liked just yet. I decided to make some pancakes for breakfast, seeing as I hadn't eaten myself yet. As I was cooking I idly wondered if anyone in the house would want some as well, and then I shrugged, making an extra stack for people to help themselves to if they wanted. They were all chocolate chip but who didn't like chocolate?

'Please, make yourself at home.' Damon muttered sarcastically as he stepped into the kitchen, sipping from a blood bag.

'I will, thanks' I smiled cheekily at him for a moment before my attention returned to the task at hand, 'do you want some pancakes to go with your morning blood? I'm making extra.'

'Huh, and here I was thinking that all of those were for you.' Damon said as he gestured over to the growing pile of pancakes I was stacking onto a single plate.

'Ha, I love pancakes but I couldn't eat that many unless I'd been starved for days.' I replied, putting the most recent pancake onto a new plate, adding more batter to the pan as I made another. Damon took another plate out of the cupboard and took three of the pancakes from the stack before he grabbed a knife and fork and sat down at the breakfast bar, which was directly across from where I was stood.

'Mmmm.' Damon moaned in pleasure as he took his first bite, making me laugh.

'Good?' I asked, still chuckling.

'Oh yeah.' He nodded, hungrily cutting off another bite before he eagerly shoved that into his mouth as well.

'What the bloody hell are you moaning at?' Rebekah asked as she joined us in the kitchen, she looked over to Damon as she frowned in confusion, 'I was a little worried I was going to walk in on you two having sex on the countertop.' She joked.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust, happy when Damon did the same; I knew he didn't feel that way about me and I _definitely_ didn't.

'Ew, no.' I muttered, adding my third and final pancake to my plate before I turned off the hob and made my way over to the empty seat next to Damon as I dug into my own breakfast.

'Those are up for grabs by the way, help yourself.' I said to Rebekah, gesturing to the pile of pancakes after I'd swallowed my first mouthful. Delicious. She didn't need to be told twice; she got herself a plate and grabbed two pancakes, taking the empty seat to my left as she started to eat as well. I couldn't help but laugh when I felt the wave of pleasure coming from her as she chewed; she was more restrained than Damon and didn't vocalise it but I could still feel it.

'These are amazing.' She commented.

'I'm glad you like them.' I smiled, finishing off the ones on my plate before I went to stand up to clean up the mess I had made. To my surprise, Damon stopped me, taking my plate with his and cleaning up himself.

'You cooked, I'll clean. You are meant to be a guest after all.' He offered as an explanation.

I just shrugged; I couldn't argue with that. Not long after Elena and Stefan came into the kitchen, each of them helping themselves to the left over pancakes, finishing off the pile. I waited until they were finished before I broached the topic that everyone seemed to be trying to avoid.

'What's the plan?' I asked after all of us had made our way into the library; I was sat in between Rebekah and Elena on the sofa while Stefan sat on the armchair opposite us and Damon remained standing.

'Well we need to come up with something plausible if we're going to lure Klaus here.' Stefan said.

'We could say that Mikael followed me here and tried to grab me and use me as bait?' Elena suggested.

'That's a good idea, it does sound like something he would actually do.' Rebekah agreed.

'Okay, then what? You vervained him?' Stefan asked.

'No _we_ vervained him; he's an Original. This needs to be realistic.' I muttered.

'Okay, fine, we vervained him and in the process we discovered that he had a dagger.' Stefan replied.

'That he planned to use on Rebekah, but before he could…' Elena trailed off.

'I drove it though his heart,' I piped up, liking the idea after what I had seen of him in my vision yesterday.

'Why you?' Damon asked, his expression one of disbelief.

'Klaus knows how protective I am of Elena, so it wouldn't be hard for him to believe. Plus I doubt Mikael even knows about me, meaning I would have had the element of surprise.' I explained.

'That's true.' Rebekah said, backing me up.

'Fine. Then what do we do if he asks to see Mikael's body?' Damon asked as he turned to Stefan, 'you my brother have been compelled to do what Klaus says. So if the idea is to lure him back to Mystic Falls, the last thing we need is you getting tripped up and tongue tied.'

''Well, don't look at me. I'm just in charge of getting him back here.' Stefan replied, looking extremely relaxed.

'Klaus is smart. If we tell him that Mikael is dead, he'll want proof.' Elena confirmed, looking convinced, which I was as well in all honesty.

'Then I shall be dead.' Mikael said as he calmly walked into the room, joining the conversation. I felt myself stiffen as I felt his cold and uncaring aura; I knew how unpredictable it made him and I didn't believe that he wouldn't screw us over if it meant that he could kill Klaus. I placed my hand on Rebekah's knee, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her once I had taken all of the fear that had emerged at her father's sudden appearance.

'What if he wants to see you in person?' Elena asked, looking to Mikael apprehensively, and I was glad I wasn't the only one who had noticed that he couldn't be trusted.

'That will mean the plan is working, you see Klaus will absolutely want to see my body. You lure him here and I will kill him.' Mikael's voice was so sure, so confident that if I didn't have my abilities to rely on I would've believed him.

'With what? The daggers won't work on him.' Stefan said, as if Mikael didn't already know that.

'I am in possession of a stake fashioned from the wood of the ancient white oak tree. The one that left these ashes when it burned.' Mikael answered as he dipped the dagger he had pulled from his jacket pocket into the jar of ashes he had been holding.

'Where is it?' Damon asked as he watched Mikael warily.

'Not here. Knowing it's location is my insurance policy.' Mikael answered as he walked over to the sofa where Elena, Rebekah and I were sitting. I tensed, ready to move in front of Rebekah if he decided to stab her, but I knew he wasn't going to.

'Against what?' Elena asked as she looked up to him; he was now standing in front of me.

'You leaving this in my heart. You see, a vampire can't dagger an Original without dying, and seeing as you've already expressed your eagerness to do this, the responsibility falls to you.' Mikael handed me the dagger and I took it without hesitation, moving to stand but fell back when Elena kept me in my seat with a hand on my arm.

'You want her to actually dagger you?' Elena's voice was shocked.

'Klaus will leave nothing to chance, especially when it comes to trust.' Mikael explained.

I moved Elena's hand off my arm, gently as I stood up and walked over to the open space in front of the fire place, he followed me and looked down at me with an almost arrogant look on his face; he didn't think I would do it. I pictured the way that he had been with Klaus in my vision and without a moment's hesitation I moved forward, plunging the dagger into his heart. He fell to his knees, shocked even though the whole point of this was for me to dagger him. I moved out of his way, refusing to break is fall, and he fell to the side, his eyes now closed and his skin grey with black vein's protruding to the surface.

'Wow. Harsh.' Damon commented, amused.

'I vote we leave the dagger in.' I muttered as I looked down to his body.

'You know we can't do that, Kim.' Elena said, her voice soft. I rolled my eyes and went to sit back between her and Rebekah on the sofa.

'Now we lay the bait.' Damon said, gesturing for Stefan to make the call, he did and he had it on speakerphone so we could all hear the conversation. I could feel my heart beat pick up as I wrung my hands on my lap in anticipation; I hadn't heard his voice in what felt like forever. The dial tone echoed throughout the room until Klaus picked up on the third ring.

'Portland is fantastic. Once you get over all the whiny music and healthy looking people it is literally a breeding ground for werewolves.' Klaus said, surpassing the normal greeting, which made me smile.

'Your father is dead.' Stefan said, his tone emotionless.

'What did you just say to me?' Klaus demanded.

'Oh, my mistake. Not your actual father and not dead. Mikael, daggered- what do you want me to do with the body?' Stefan asked, a hint of amusement working its way into his tone.

'Well, first I want you to explain to me exactly what happened.' Klaus said, his tone dangerous, but I could sense a trace of hope that this was all true and Mikael really was out of his life.

'He followed Elena here; he was apparently planning on using her as bait to catch you. Damon and I managed to vervain him. We noticed he had a dagger, which we think he was planning on using on Rebekah. It dropped to the floor at some point during the struggle. Kim came out of no where and daggered him when he tried to go for Elena again.' Stefan reiterated, his voice once again so emotionless he almost sounded robotic.

Rebekah and I exchanged a look, as the silence on the other end seemed to go on forever.

'Is Kim all right?' He asked, his voice concerned. I felt my own eyebrows raise in surprise that he had asked about my safety before demanding to see his father's dead body; I could feel the surprise coming from everyone else in the room for the same reason.

'Kim's fine.' Stefan assured.

'I wanna see him. I want to see his rotting body for myself.' Klaus said, his tone now seething with anger.

'Well, he's here. Come by whenever.' Stefan muttered, his casual tone suggesting that they were talking about meeting up for a weekly catch up.

'If you are lying to me, Stefan, your compulsion will expose you. So, answer with your life: is what you are saying the truth?' Klaus demanded.

'It's true, I saw it with my own eyes.' Stefan confirmed.

Klaus' next words surprised everyone for the second time, 'I want to speak to Kim.'

My eyes widened in fear as I frantically gestured for him to not give me the phone; I was convinced he would be able to tell I was lying. Of course, Stefan was compelled so the traitor couldn't _not_ give me away.

'No problem, she's right here.' Stefan said passing me the phone; I took it, glaring at him as I did so.

'Hello?' I said, carefully keeping the nervousness from my tone.

'Hello, love.' Klaus said and I could tell he was smiling.

'So… what's up?' I asked, feeling awkward with everyone staring at me and listening in to the conversation.

'I hear you daggered Mikael, I must say, love I'm impressed.' He said and I could tell that he genuinely meant it.

'Well, let this be a warning to you; I'm dangerous,' I said frowning when he laughed, 'excuse me; I don't know why you're laughing. I daggered an Original!'

'I know, love. I'm definitely intimidated.' He said and I could tell he was smirking.

'Did you want anything else? Or did you just want to speak to me to mock my excellent daggering skills?' I asked, smiling despite myself.

'Yes love actually there was.' He paused and when he spoke again his tone was serious, 'is it true?'

'Why are you asking me? I thought you'd want to hear it from Rebekah.' I said, genuinely interested.

His tone softened as he became sincere, 'because I trust you.'

I felt my heart expand so much that I honestly thought for a second it would burst through my chest. My tongue suddenly felt like led, as if my body was telling me not to betray his trust. Honestly, I didn't want to, and I could feel the tears swimming in my eyes as I whispered, 'it's true.'

I could feel everyone's relief as I said those two words, and I vaguely registered Elena wiping away the tears that had fallen on my cheeks. I just had to remind myself that me doing this wasn't going to lead him to his death. He was going to be _fine._ He might never trust me again, which hurt more than I could even comprehend, but he would be fine.

'Thank you love. Is Rebekah near you?' He asked

'Yeah, just a second, I'll put her on.' I passed the phone to Rebekah taking a deep breath to calm myself; even though I knew he would be okay I still felt guilty as hell for lying to him.

'Hello, Nik.' Rebekah's voice was soft.

'Bekah, how are you over the news of Mikael's tragic run in with the dagger?' Klaus asked, confusing us all; he wasn't asking if it was true, meaning he genuinely meant it when he said he trusted me. Damn it; I was feeling worse by the second.

'I'm happy, Nik. He's finally out of our lives for good. I miss you; I'm miserable here.' Rebekah replied.

'I'll be home soon.' Klaus promised.

'Good, I'll see you then, brother.' Rebekah mumbled before she hung up the phone.

I sighed, relieved that his voice was no longer around to remind me of my guilt, but at the same time the pain in my chest reappeared, reminding me how much I longed to hear it again.

'Now, was that easy or what?' Damon asked, looking around his eyes pausing on mine.

'You're joking, right?' I said flatly.

'Don't tell me you actually feel bad about-,' Damon was cut off when Elena glared at him, her stare so icy that even _I_ was a little intimidated.

'It'll be okay.' Elena assured me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as she hugged me sideways.

'I know,' I answered, I could feel everyone's relief at my words, but they thought that I was referring to the success of the plan, when in fact my comfort was being drawn from the fact that I knew this plan was going to _fail_.

I sighed as I stood and walked over to Mikael on the floor, kneeling down beside him, 'let's just get this over with,' I mumbled before sharply pulling the dagger from his heart and storing it in my back pocket.

Everyone seemed to snap into action from that moment; Rebekah grabbed my hand, ushering me upstairs insisting that we were to get ready immediately. As you can imagine I put up a fight but I was no match for her strength. Elena said she was going to go back home to meet Bonnie and pick out a dress. Damon was going over the plan, and Stefan was staying away from everyone encase he saw something that was important to the plan that he might accidently reveal to Klaus.

Rebekah had a group of women come to the house to do our hair and make up; we had to change into robes with just our underwear underneath to avoid us having to remove our clothes afterwards and ruining the hard work. Rebekah gave the girls strict instructions as to what she wanted, and when she turned to me waiting for my requests I just stared at her blankly and told her she could decide for me, which she was really delighted about. While the girls were doing my hair, Rebekah disappeared for a while to talk to Mikael, when she returned I could feel her anger and her sadness and I quickly took both, replacing them with comfort. I don't know how long I was in that room for being plucked, prodded, curled and brushed, but it felt like an _eternity._ What made it feel longer was Rebekah's refusal to let me see exactly what was being done to me, she even picked out my dress, making me close my eyes and threatening to compel me if I opened them while she helped me into it.

Finally, I was done; the girls had left after finishing Rebekah's make up; she had her hair styled in waves around her shoulders, her make up was light and natural; she was wearing a red fitted dress that cut off mid thigh and she looked absolutely stunning.

'Rebekah you look beautiful.' I told her, genuinely meaning it; she beamed at me.

'Thank you, but trust me, sweetheart you'll be the one turning heads tonight.' She promised me, mischievous grin lighting up her face as she dragged me to the floor length mirror. I frowned at her before my gaze moved to my reflection and I gasped in shock, not believing _that_ was me. My usual loose curls had been tightened and styled half down half up but it was all pinned so that it fell straight down my back, leaving both sides of my neck bare. My dress was a dusty pink, a colour that seemed to make my olive skin glow. The material was lacy and so fitted to my body that it was practically a second skin, and yet I could move in it with ease. I was a little worried about it's length though, it was shorter than Rebekah's and I wondered if you would be able to see my underwear if I bent over. My eyes were a smoky brown, my face was lightly bronzed, and I was wearing a lip colour that matched my dress exactly. I noted with a small relief that I was wearing flats that also matched my dress; heels and I were not friends.

'Bekah… thank you.' I said turning to her and giving her a massive hug.

When we pulled apart she gave me a bright smile, and I could tell that she was excited to actually go to this dance. I remembered her telling me how she had spent her immortal life on the run and realised that this was probably going to be her first school dance.

'You're welcome, I'm glad you like it.' She said, her tone honest.

'We need to take a picture.' I said, grabbing my phone off the bed as I set it on a timer and leaned it against the bathroom counter top. We stood side by side, each with an arm around the others waist as we grinned at the camera. I showed her the picture, pretty pleased with how it turned out. She smiled and I sent it to her phone when she asked. We were just grabbing everything we were going to need, I was picking up the clothes I had been wearing earlier and noticed the dagger sticking out the back pocket, I grabbed it and went to the bathroom, hiding it in the water tank above the toilet.

'Ready?' Rebekah asked brightly.

I grinned at her as I came out of the bathroom, storing my phone between my breasts before I walked over to her and linked her arm through mine.

'Yep, let's rock this homecoming.' I said, my tone also bright as her excitement rubbed off on me.

We took Damon's car after assuring him that we wouldn't scratch his baby; we were half way to the school when we got a call that the dance had been moved to Tyler's house. With a shrug I turned around the car and made my way in that direction. The last time I had been there it had been with Elijah before the sacrifice, it was crazy how it felt like that was years ago when in reality it was just a few months.

'Nice party, Tyler.' I said, genuinely meaning it as I took in the surroundings; it was packed with people and from the looks of it there was a live band out back.

'Thanks, but I'm not the one throwing it. I'm just doing what Klaus wants.' Tyler said, reaching into the back of a truck to pull out a keg.

'What do you mean?' Rebekah asked.

'It's not a party, it's a wake.' Tyler explained, before he lifted the keg and walked off in the direction of the music. Rebekah and I shared a look before we moved to walk forward, our arms still linked together as we silently offered one another comfort.

'Good evening everyone! I wanna thank you for being here with me to celebrate! It's been a long time coming!' Klaus shouted, his voice echoing over the sound system. As soon as I heard him my feet came to an abrupt stop and as if my body knew where he was, I looked straight at him on the stage. My breath stopped when his eyes met mine once he had finished speaking. I blinked and he was suddenly in front of Rebekah and me.

'Nik! Quite the celebration.' Rebekah said, drawing Klaus' eyes from mine, he looked over to her and grinned.

'Of course, sister, only the best to send off our father.' Klaus smirked and I felt my heart skip a beat; it had been so long since I had seen him in person and I found myself staring at him almost as if I didn't know what to do now he was right in front of me.

'Are you all right, love?' Klaus asked, and that seemed to snap me out of my trance, I pulled my arm from Rebekah's and flung my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. I'd probably be embarrassed for being so forward later, but I had _missed_ him. I felt his surprise for a moment before he softened and hugged me back, his arms wrapping around me tightly. I inhaled his scent, and I felt the calmness that only he could bring flow through me; the hole in my chest seemed to be a distant memory as I could finally breathe without the sharp pin echoing in my ribcage. I felt Klaus' head rest in the crook of my neck as he inhaled as well, and I wondered if he was feeling the same thing I was; when I focused on him I noticed he felt calm, much like I did.

I heard Rebekah clear her throat, I squeezed Klaus tighter for a moment before I reluctantly pulled away, moving back to Rebekah's side and linking my arm through hers once again.

'I missed you too, love.' Klaus said, his voice teasing. I rolled my eyes at his arrogance but I couldn't stop the small smile that formed on my lips; I _had_ missed him and while I was happy to hear his arrogance now, I was sure it would become annoying again soon enough.

I was about to ask Rebekah why she had interrupted us when Stefan suddenly walked over, answering my question. I looked over to Klaus to see his eyes were still on me; his blue orbs shining with amusement before looked over to the newcomer.

'Quite the homecoming.' Stefan commented.

'I've been planning my father's funeral for a thousand years. Granted, in no version of it were any of these people invited, but you get the idea.' Klaus said as he gestured to the huge crowd gathered in front of the band stage.

'So, what now? Stop running?' Stefan asked.

'Now, I reunite my family.' Klaus said, his eyes flickering over to Rebekah; I could feel her worry and I took it, calming her as I did so. I knew she was worried that if they killed her brother then she would never see her family again, but I knew that she had nothing to be concerned about.

'Your family. You mean the people you cart around in caskets?' Stefan said; I could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he put the pieces together. Frankly, I was surprised it had taken him this long to figure out the connection between those caskets Klaus had dragged around over the summer and what they were to him. I had realised what they all must be when he had added Elijah to the collection and if I hadn't then I'm sure I would have when he woke Rebekah in Chicago.

'None of that matters anymore. Mikael is gone. Bygones will be bygones.' Klaus said, sounding sure of himself though I could feel his worry over how his family would react after being in a forced slumber for who knows how long.

'I wouldn't be so sure of that.' I muttered, unable to keep my mouth shut.

'Why's that, love?' Klaus asked as he glared at me.

'If you'd daggered me for who knows how long and then just decided to wake me up one day I know I for one would be _pissed._ I'm not saying they won't forgive you eventually, but don't expect them to wake up and want to play happy families.' I said, my gaze not wavering from Klaus'.

'She's right, Nik. Finn for one won't be particularly welcoming. Neither will Kol.' She said, drawing Klaus' glare from me.

'Perhaps you're right.' Klaus said, his tone reluctant. Rebekah and I shared a look, rolling our eyes; there was no perhaps about it, his siblings were going to be furious, but it looked like that was all we were going to get.

'Anyway… would you like me to take you to your father?' Stefan cut in, clearly eager to get his part of the plan over with.

'Well, it wouldn't be a party without the guest of honour now, would it? Bring him to me.' Klaus smirked, his eyes hardening at the mention of Mikael.

'All right. Perhaps there's something in it for me? My freedom from your compulsion.' Stefan said.

'Sounds fair.' Rebekah and I said at the same time, causing Klaus' brow to quirk in amusement before he turned back to Stefan.

'Once he is dead and his weapon is destroyed, you'll have your freedom; it'll be my pleasure to give it back.' Klaus smiled, patting Stefan's back. Stefan nodded and turned, walking away without another word.

'Well, seeing as this is your first high school dance, let me introduce you to the joys of beer pong.' I said, dragging Rebekah further into the crowd in the direction of the beer pong tables. I knew that Klaus was following us, and I could feel his amusement at me suggesting we play this game. We made it to the other side of the crowd and I noticed there were three tables set up. Two were being used so I made my way to the one that was empty, happy that everything that we needed was already on the table.

'I'm thinking girls against original hybrid?' I suggested throwing half of the cups to the other side of the table to Klaus; he caught them with no effort and a smirk. I started to set mine out in a triangle, noting that Klaus was doing the same, I looked over to Rebekah when I could feel her confusion growing as I finished filling the cups a quarter full with whiskey, sliding the bottle over to Klaus so he could do the same.

'You take a ping pong ball,' I said holding up the ball as I continued, 'and you have to try and get it into one of your opponent's cups. If you do, they have to drink it, and vice versa. First to clear their opponent's cups wins.' I said, smiling when she nodded in understanding.

'Ladies first.' Klaus smirked, looking incredibly confident.

I took aim and released the ball, smirking when I got it into one of his cups; he picked it up toasting in our direction before swallowing its contents in one go. He turned the cup upside down and took the ping pong ball, lining up his shot before he let it go, the ball effortlessly landing in one of the cups. I sighed and mimicked his actions, ignoring his smirk as I swallowed the contents, enjoying the burn in my throat before I turned my cup upside down and passed the ball to Rebekah. Klaus laughed when she missed while my mouth dropped open in shock, she looked over to my expression and smiled sheepishly before she glared at Klaus.

'I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, little sister.' Klaus teased.

'Shut up, Nik!' Rebekah shouted, amusing him even more. He threw the ball and once again got it into one of our cups, I gestured for Rebekah to drink it before I picked up the ball, realising that I might be the only one who could win us this game, meaning we were screwed.

We were down to one on one; we both had one cup left and it was my turn, which I was a little concerned about as the whiskey I had to drink was starting to affect my balance.

'You can do this, Kim. If he wins, we will _never_ hear the end of it.' Rebekah said from behind me, rubbing my shoulders as if I was about to go twelve rounds with Mohammad Ali. She was getting too into this.

'Bekah, sweetheart, you don't actually think the only one without supernatural help is going to win this do you?' Nik asked, from the other side of the table, his hands clasped behind his back with a smug smirk on his face as if he had already won.

'Shut up, Nik!' Bekah shouted back, making me smile.

'I can do this.' I muttered to myself, ignoring Nik's chuckle at my self pep talk, I took the ball lined it up, blinking a few times as it kept moving, 'okay is it just me or are there three of them?'

'Oh good lord. We are so screwed.' Bekah mumbled while Nik laughed loudly, 'just aim for the one in the middle.'

I nodded, doing just that and once I was sure I had lined the ball up with my target I threw the ball as hard as I could. It flew through the air, hitting Klaus' forehead before it bounced forward and landed into the cup in front of him. The three of us stood there, frozen in shock. Did that actually just go into the cup? Bekah was first to break the silence, squealing and laughing as she hooked her arm around my shoulders and jumped up and down. That bought Klaus and I out of our shock as I joined in on her laughter. We both laughed even harder when we remembered Klaus' shocked expression when the ball had bounced from his forehead.

'Drink up, brother.' Bekah said brightly, giggling when Nik glared at her, but we both knew it wasn't genuine. He picked up the cup and downed its contents before laying it upside down with the others, a reluctant smile on his face.

'Well, well looks like the big bad Original hybrid sucks at beer pong!' I said as I jumped on to Bekah's back almost causing us both to fall forward seeing as the alcohol had affected her as well but she corrected herself pretty quickly, 'we won!' I cheered, laughing when the crowd behind me cheered back at us.

'I didn't know you were such a soar winner, love.' Klaus said with a smirk as he made his way to stand next to Bekah, me still on her back.

'It's not everyday a human beats an original hybrid, just making the most of it.' I mumbled as I rested my chin on Bekah's head, much to Nik's amusement.

'You're not human, love.' Klaus pointed out.

'True, but my reflexes are completely human.' I pointed out.

'Excuse us, Nik, we're going to use the ladies room,' Bekah said as she gently put me on the floor, linking her arm through mine to keep me steady.

'We are?' I asked, confused; I didn't need to use the bathroom.

'Yes.' Bekah said firmly; I looked over to Klaus' amused expression and I just shrugged, deciding against arguing with her.

'You can lick your wounds while we're gone. Catch you later Nik!' I said, patting his chest as Bekah dragged me around him. I could feel his surprise and I wondered why; it took my drunken brain a while to realise that I had called him Nik and not Klaus. I didn't know why it had just come out, but I brushed it off not giving it much thought.

'This isn't the bathroom,' I said as I looked around, realising we were in the front garden; it was eerily quiet, although I could still hear the music from the house.

'I know that. Here sit down, I need to talk to you.' Bekah murmured as she pulled me to a bench that I wouldn't have been able to see with my human eyes while it was this dark.

'What's up Bekah?' I asked, trying to look into her eyes but it was so dark I couldn't make out any features; I could only see her silhouette.

'I'm having second thoughts about this plan.' She whispered so low that I could barely hear her, 'I know he killed our mother but I know him and he wouldn't have done it unless he was provoked.'

I bit my lip, deciding whether I should do it or not; I could feel her inner struggle and if I showed her this it could go either way. I sighed, deciding to just do it, knowing it wouldn't affect tonight's outcome either way.

'Can I show you something?' I asked, I saw Rebekah nod and reached out, 'give me your hand.' I said softly, she did and I placed it to the side of my face.

I was a little apprehensive; I had never recalled a vision before, but if I could do it with feelings then I could do it with this as well… right?

'What are you-' Rebekah started to ask but she cut off when both of us lost our vision for a moment before images came in front of our brain, taking us somewhere else.

 _I was standing in a small village; the same one from my vision yesterday, the only difference was Rebekah was with me, her arm linked through mine as she looked around, shocked at what she was seeing. The leaves were on the ground and the wind blew them all around, causing them to circulate around our feet. I looked in front of me and saw Klaus talking to Ester, I started to move us to that direction, pulling Rebekah with me; I could feel her sadness at seeing her mother, but I could see her sorrow when she noticed Nik's expression as well._

' _Mother, please.' Klaus said, his voice was pleading, Bekah and I came to a stop where I had yesterday; a step away from being in the middle of them._

' _I could never love you, Niklaus.' Ester said her tone completely void of emotion. I heard Rebekah gasp in shock, and when I looked over I saw tears swimming in her eyes as she looked over to Klaus' expression; it was as heartbreaking as it had been the first time; the light in his eyes dimmed as tears pooled in his eyes, spilling over. I saw that Rebekah's tears had also spilled over and I could feel tears falling down my own cheeks again, but I refused to acknowledge them._

' _I am your child.' Klaus said, his tone and expression desperate._

' _Oh, Nik.' Rebekah said, looking like she wanted to comfort him._

' _Niklaus, you are nothing but a reminder of my greatest shame. I will never love you, my child or not. You are nothing but an abomination.' She said, her voice dripping with venom and disdain._

 _Rebekah looked to her Mother with complete shock on her face before she looked over to Klaus, preparing herself for his reaction._

 _Klaus' expression dropped in complete sadness before his whole face hardened in anger. So quickly that I may have missed it if I had blinked, he reached forward and ripped her heart from her chest. His Mother fell to her knees, her hands covering the gaping hole in her chest as she attempted to gasp for air with no success. The life faded from her eyes and she fell to her side, dead. Rebekah cried out, falling to her own knees, she went to reach out and touch her Mother, but I stopped her. We looked up to Klaus who was still holding her heart in his hand, the anger now gone and replaced with shock, shame and regret. He dropped the organ from his hand, looking to the crimson substance flowing between his fingers, his tears once again falling down his cheeks as he realized what he had done. Abruptly falling to the floor, he grasped his Mother's corpse as he apologized over and over again, clearly remorseful despite the horrid things she had said to him; things a mother should never say to her child. I looked over to Rebekah and saw her heart breaking for her brother as she took in the scene; I wondered if she thought that Klaus had killed their Mother out of spite._

' _He didn't mean to do it.' Rebekah said between her sobs, 'she provoked him; she said things a mother should never say to her child. And now he is going to die because of me.' Her sobs became heavier and harsher as I hugged her to me, comforting her; much like Klaus was with Ester's corpse._

I blinked fast as it seemed to help bring back my vision to the present. Rebekah's eyes opened and her eyes immediately filled with tears.

'Hey, I need you to trust me.' I said, squeezing her hand comfortingly.

'I trust you.' She said and in that moment I knew that she meant it.

'Whatever the plan is that they have put together, it isn't going to work. I _know_ its not, I don't know what's going to go wrong, but either way Klaus is going to be fine.' I assured her.

Her whole expression transformed into one of complete relief, as her tears spilled over onto her cheeks, I wiped them away gently amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her.

'That's why you've been so calm.' Rebekah suddenly realized, looking up to me, I smiled and nodded.

'I think you should go.' I said, squeezing Rebekah's hand when she looked a little hurt at my words.

'If Klaus sees you upset then it might clue him in that the others are up to something and with Mikael running around with a white oak dagger I don't want to risk him trying to kill you when he fails to kill Nik.' I explained, glad when she didn't feel offended anymore; instead her whole expression softened.

'You called him Nik earlier.' She said, surprising me as she stood, 'only family calls him that and the fact that he let you get away with it means that he considers you as such. So do I.' Rebekah said, warming my heart as she hugged me.

'I consider you family, too.' I said honestly; I don't know when it had happened, but I considered her a sister, I pulled back and urgently whispered, 'now get out of here.'

She nodded and in a flash, she was gone. I made my way back up to the party, humming to myself to fight the sense of dread growing in my gut. I knew it was warning me about my own safety and I was trying to remain calm about it. When I made it back to the main house, I decided to go to the bathroom after all, needing a little time to collect myself. Which wasn't a very bright idea, because as I did I saw Mikael standing at the front door, clearly unable to get over the threshold. I noticed a body on the floor and moved over to see if she was all right but when she turned to look at me, I was confused.

'K-' I started to say, but she cut me off with a hard look; clearly this was a part of the plan, Katherine was pretending to be Elena, which was rather brilliant I must say.

'The big bad wolf. You haven't hanged. Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward. You forget, they may be sired to you, but they are still part vampire and they can be compelled by me.' Mikael said, taking Katherine into his arms when one of Klaus' hybrids picked her up off the floor and shoved her forward.

'Come out and face me, Niklaus. Or she dies.' Mikael said, producing a dagger from his pocket as he moved it rest behind Katherine's back.

'Go ahead, kill her.' Klaus said, his voice unwavering. I heard Katherine gasp in shock and I couldn't help but snort at her surprise, which wasn't my best idea because the hybrid who had passed Katherine over to Mikael caught sight of me and moved me to stand at his side with my back against her chest. Klaus' eyes met mine and though I could feel his alarm, he was hiding it very well.

'No Klaus, he'll do it.' Katherine said, faking her panic brilliantly.

'If she dies, this will be the last of your abominations.' Mikael said, I could fell Klaus' sadness and shame as Mikael spoke and I took it as I responded before he could.

'Abomination's is a very strong word don't you think?' I asked, drawing his icy stare to me. I stopped myself from flinching; I could feel his anger and it was like nothing I had ever felt. I refused to move my eyes from his though.

'Shut up.' Mikael spat, making me angry.

'For someone who is a thousand years old you have no manners.' I shook my head in mock disappointment.

'I'm warning you...' His voice turned ice cold and he actually released Katherine to grab me instead.

'What? Worried that I'm right?' I asked, knowing that I should probably have shut up right about then, but I was just so angry.

'Father, you just let the only one who can create my hybrids go. Interesting tactic I must say.' Klaus smirked as he walked down the staircase he had been sat on, coming to a stop a few feet in front of me; Mikael was holding the dagger to my back.

'Well… you may be rude sometimes but I must say your manners are a thousand times better than his.' I said moving my head back slightly to gesture in Mikael's direction, Klaus smiled at me before his expression hardened when he met Mikael's eyes.

I felt him dig the dagger into my back, only an inch, but it still made me wince.

'She may have gotten away, but rumour is you care quite a bit for this particular human.' Mikael said, his tone taunting.

'Who told you that?' I scoffed, taking Klaus' panic before it could show on his face.

'You know what they say about rumours…' Klaus smirked, but I could feel his concern underneath the mask he was wearing.

'Okay, not _just_ rumours, you got me.' He laughed harshly, 'a trusted witch has informed me about the connection you share. How powerful you two will be once you make your bond official; when you turn her. Let's just say I don't intend to let that happen.' Mikael muttered, his tone one of disgust.

I saw Klaus' eyes widen in shock and confusion and I felt mine do the same.

'What are you blabbering about?' I asked, my tone suggesting he was crazy.

'You have been told you're mates already and your unwillingness to accept it has made you both vulnerable. Once you turn her she will have the strength of an Original, she will have the same one weakness that we have, and I cannot let that happen.' Mikael said simply, I felt the dagger dig further into my back and I sensed that Klaus was also in pain, which made me frown.

'Did anyone tell you that your pain is linked?' Mikael laughed cruelly as he removed the dagger from my back, I prepared myself to take the pain from Klaus, knowing he was going to try and cause him pain through me. He brings the dagger to the back of my thigh and plunges it forward; I groan out as I feel Nik's pain as well as my own. I feel Mikael's confusion and look over to Klaus and see that he is completely pain free.

'Looks like you were mistaken, _boy.'_ I muttered, which I instantly regretted when he stabbed me in the other thigh; once again it was twice as painful for me.

'Motherfucker.' I whispered.

'What the hell is going on? You should be feeling her pain!' Mikael shouted, clearly annoyed, when I looked up to meet Klaus' eyes I could tell that he knew what I was doing.

'Well clearly you were wrong, father.' Klaus said, his arms clasped behind his back as he smugly smirked at Mikael, though I could feel his trepidation.

'No, I'm not.' Mikael insisted.

I groaned when he twisted the dagger he still had stuck in my leg; once again Klaus didn't feel the pain but I sure as hell did.

'Would you pack it in.' I muttered, starting to feel a little light-headed.

'Then you wouldn't mind if I killed her?' Mikael smirked.

I could feel Klaus' rising panic and I took it without hesitation, though I was careful to retain my strength.

'Did I tell you what happens to the remaining person if their mate dies?' Mikael continued, laughing darkly as he harshly pulled the dagger from my leg bringing it in front of me to rest over my abdomen.

'You will forever to be cursed to walk this earth feeling incomplete. You will never feel at peace or whole again like you do whenever she is near. That pain at being a few thousand miles away from her will be nothing compared to that which will come when you are forced to live without her.' Mikael said, his tone becoming more and more smug as he went on. I could feel Nik's dread and I hated him for making him feel that way.

'Stop it. You made your point.' I muttered, acting weaker than I actually was, 'but there is one thing you didn't take into account.' I said moving my hands to my sides turning them so that my palms were facing him as I readied myself for what I would have to do.

'What's that?' Mikael spat, clearly thinking he had won.

'You underestimated me.' I spat back with equal venom as I channelled all of the pain I had taken in once again. I closed my eyes as I allowed myself to focus; I heard the dagger clatter to the floor as he screamed in pain. Though because he had been supporting most of my weight I fell forward as well, and I prepared myself to hit the floor but, thankfully, Klaus caught me before I did.

'Easy love.' Klaus said, I opened my eyes and noticed the gold shield shimmering around the room, much like it had the last time. I looked over to Mikael and saw him clutching his head, on his knees as he screamed in pain, and I found myself unconsciously increasing his agony as my anger towards him increased.

'You need to stop, love before you kill yourself.' Klaus murmured, I moved my eyes back to him and gasped when my focus snapped to how safe I felt in his arms; he stroked my hear comfortingly and leaned down to tenderly kiss my cheek.

'Well, well isn't this touching.' Mikael sneered and I realised that Nik had calmed me enough to stop the pain I had been sending towards him.

Klaus ignored him as he lifted his sleeve and bit into his wrist, I took his offered blood without hesitation, almost moaning in pleasure as I did; I had forgotten how _incredible_ he tasted. I pulled away when the stinging on the back of my legs healed and Klaus moved me over to the staircase, gently moving me to lean against the wall.

'Come outside and end this, boy.' Mikael taunted.

'I'd prefer to watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb.' Klaus smirked as a group of hybrids gathered behind Mikael.

'They can't kill me.'

'True. But it'll make one hell of a party game. All I have to do is rub these two fingers together and they'll pounce.' Klaus said, holding up his thumb and forefinger in demonstration.

Suddenly, Katherine appeared in front of the door, smirking at Klaus and Mikael's surprised expressions before she threw two wolfs bane grenades at the crowd that had congregated at the bottom of the steps. They all winced and moved away, Katherine sent one last smirk before she was gone in a flash. Damon suddenly appeared behind Klaus pinning him to the floor, about to plunge the white oak stake through his heart when Stefan suddenly appeared, throwing Damon off Klaus, the stake clattering to the floor in the process. Klaus threw Damon against the wall, and picked up the stake, moving at vampire speed to plunge it through Mikael's chest. His body and the stake went up in flames instantly; I could feel Klaus' relief as well as my own.

'What did you do?' Damon shouted, still on the floor as he glared at Stefan.

'He earned his freedom,' Klaus smirked walking over to Stefan, forcing him to meet his gaze as he compelled him, 'you no longer have to do as I say. You are free.'

Stefan blinked, and looked over to where Damon was before he met my eyes as he realised he was gone. I gave him a soft smile and he gave me one in return before he also flashed from the house.

'Well… no one can say that your parties lack excitement.' I said sarcastically, drawing Klaus' eyes away from Mikael's body to meet mine. I saw the disbelief shining in his eyes and I stood and walked over him placing my hand to caress the side of his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly.

'He's really gone.' I whispered, his eyes met mine and I saw the vulnerability shining in is beautiful blue orbs, 'he's really gone.' I repeated placing a tender kiss to his lips before I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him. He returned my hug, and I felt liquid flow down my neck as a few relieved tears left him. I went to send him as much comfort as I could, but I apparently didn't need to; he was completely calm. I don't know how long we were stood there for; it could have been hours or minutes, but I refused to be the first to move away knowing that he needed me in that moment.

Eventually, he lifted his face from my neck, moving back to look into my eyes, but kept his body aligned with mine. I couldn't read the look in his eyes but I could feel the uncertainty coming from him.

'Did you know?' He asked, continuing when I frowned in confusion, 'did you know about Mikael?'

I nodded, hating the betrayal I felt coming from him, 'Klaus, I-' I tried to explain, but before I could he was gone. I was left standing alone, looking around though I knew he was already long gone. I knew how Klaus dealt with betrayal and I was worried what that meant for my family, my friends and me.

 **That's chapter fifteen! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and working Kim into it meant a few things changed, but I hope you liked it regardless. Let me know what you think! :)**

 _ **Geminigurl89: It was really interesting to see Kim get to explore Klaus's past and his memories. Great idea and another awesome chapter!**_ **Thank you so much; I'm glad you liked it :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: I definitely liked the chapter! The connection between Kim and Klaus showed again, which I LOVE. Can't believe that this story hasn't min. 1000 Fav. Followers. BUT they're gonna come! They have to :D Have a nice day! :) xx**_ **Thank you, lovely! I'm glad you liked the chapter and you're so sweet for saying that, honestly the numbers don't matter to me, I do this because I enjoy it :) It makes me really happy when readers like you comment saying that you're enjoying it :) Hope you have a nice day too!**


	16. The New Deal

Chapter Sixteen

'Kim, get up! You promised you'd come with me!' Elena shouted right next to my ear.

'Ugh.' I groaned, rolling over to the other side and covering up Klaus' shirt with my body, not wanting Elena to see it and ask questions that I didn't want to answer.

I waited until she had left the room before I got up, storing the shirt under my pillow, before I made my way to the shower. I sighed happily when I felt the hot water cascading over my body. As I was there I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift…I still needed Klaus' shirt to sleep, and since the whole Mikael plot and me revealing to Klaus I was in on it, I hadn't seen him. That had been a few weeks ago, and though I knew he was still in town, I missed him. More importantly I hated that he didn't let me explain exactly why I had been involved on the plan before he ran off. But I knew I'd have to let him come to me; if I went to him his anger would just get out of control and we wouldn't get anywhere. The problem was, the longer he left it the angrier _I_ got; if he just let me explain then he would understand. Rebekah had been a good friend to me the past few weeks she had been repeatedly telling her brother what an idiot he was and that he needed to let me explain, of course he was as stubborn as I was, so I wasn't holding my breath. Bekah told me that she had revealed her part in the plan, at least until the very end; Klaus had been furious, but he had soon simmered down when she told him he found out about their Mother. I was just happy she had told him; if she kept it a secret and he found out further down the line he would have been _pissed._

I got out of the shower and dressed in some black leggings, a black skin-tight tank top, running shoes and a sports bra with a black thong. Once I was ready I went down stairs and saw Elena by the door, jogging on the spot as she readied herself for the mornings activities. I saw her untangling her headphones and I took them from her, putting them on the side table while I ushered her out the door before she could demand them back.

'If you're making me run the least you can do is talk to me and get my mind off it.' I explained when she continued to frown at me.

She laughed but otherwise nodded in agreement, we made our way to the path and started out in a light jog, 'so… have you heard from Stefan?' I asked.

'Nope. Damon thinks he skipped town as soon as he got his freedom.' Elena murmured.

'Ah. Well, has anything been going on between you and Damon?' I asked, raising my brows suggestively.

She didn't answer, but she did pick up her speed a little bit, which I think was a punishment as I was forced to match it.

'Have you heard from Klaus?' Elena countered.

'Nope.' I said, hoping she would leave it alone, but my sister was nothing if not persistent.

'What do you think he's waiting for?' She asked, clearly worried.

'He's probably coming up with a perfect plan on how to make us all suffer.' I deadpanned, laughing when she looked horrified, 'honestly I have no clue, Lena. All I know is he's being a drama queen as per usual and he's disappeared of the face of the earth, and when he comes back I expect a dramatic entrance.'

She laughed but didn't disagree with me. The conversation for the rest of the run was light as we talked about the runs that Mom and Dad used to make us go on as a family. At the time we had all hated it, even Elena; before Mom and Dad had passed she hadn't been much for exercise either. I'd give anything to be forced onto a family run just one last time. We were nearing the last stretch and Elena looked over to me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

'Race you to the end of the path.' She said, grinning when my face dropped in horror, '3…2…1… go!'

I pushed my legs as hard as I could, but I couldn't remember the last time I even went for a run, so when Elena beat me by a good few feet I wasn't that surprised.

'Okay you won, let's go… home' I struggled to get my words out over my heavy breathing.

Elena laughed breathlessly before she suddenly tensed as she saw something over my shoulder; I knew it wasn't Klaus and when I turned I saw a young man in a hoodie, jogging in our direction. I looked back to Elena, only for her to grab my wrist and pull me into another run.

'What the hell are you doing?' I asked, completely horrified.

'Hybrid.' She mumbled, trying to be quiet, but if he really were a hybrid he would have been able to hear us anyway.

'So?' I said, dragging her to a stop, 'if he is a hybrid, Klaus isn't exactly going to but a hit out on us is he? He still needs your blood to make hybrids and he needs me because I'm part Prophet.' I had told her about everything Mikael had said that night, but I hadn't acknowledged it out loud since then- it was kind of hard to when your supposed mate was going out of his way to pretend you didn't exist.

'So, we tried to kill him, Kim.' Elena said, worried.

I rolled my eyes and brought us to a stop, turning around to face the man, Elena looked horrified but I just gave her a look. I gestured for the guy to stop and he did, pulling out his headphones and giving me a friendly smile.

'Hey, is there something you need?' He asked.

'Just your name.' I said, giving him a warm smile so that he'd think I was interested in him.

'Tony.' He said, grinning.

'Well, Tony, tell me something; are you a hybrid?' I asked, completely serious.

I felt Tony's anxiety before he even opened his mouth, 'what? No!' He murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear; but I could feel his deceit and I knew he was lying.

'Well, your lovely hybrid master mustn't have given you much information if you think you can lie to me.' I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

'I- I don't know what you're talking about,' he stuttered, backing up a step.

'Listen, Tony. You run along to Klaus and tell him if he wants to know where we're going, what we're doing then he can grow some balls and ask me himself,' I raised my palms in his direction, not emitting a lot of pain as I didn't think the neighbours would appreciate a random golden shield and gold flowing from my hands, but enough to make him bow over, clutching his head, 'because I do not take kindly to strangers following me and my sister. Got it?' I dropped my hand when he nodded; as soon as the pain was gone he turned and ran in the opposite direction.

'Wow. Even I'm a little intimidated right now.' Elena said, looking shocked.

I grinned at her and continued running, feeling lighter now that I had gotten some of my anger out. I knew taking my anger out on an innocent hybrid was a little harsh, but I had to get my annoyance back to Klaus somehow seeing as he wasn't giving me the time of day. We got back to the house not long after and both immediately got ready to go to the Grill. Elena was meeting Bonnie and I was meeting Damon seeing as we were both pissed off with people right now. Stefan had ruined Damon's plans and Klaus was being an insufferable child. I dressed in some high waisted skinny jeans, a skin-tight white vest top, my black Vans and Elena's black fake leather jacket. Elena drove us in her car, hugging me before she went of to the table that Bonnie was sat at, I went and sat next to Damon at the bar, signalling for a whiskey. I noticed Alaric walking over to Elena but didn't think anything of it.

'Finally! Someone who wants to get day drunk with me.' Damon said, throwing his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me tightly for a moment before he released me.

'Here, here.' I clinking my glass against his before I swallowed the contents in one go.

'Did you hear about baby Gilbert losing his job here?' Damon said, looking over to me concerned.

'Yeah, he told me last week.' I sipped the new glass the bartender had placed in front of me.

'Did he tell Elena?'

'Nope.' I replied, 'he thought she'd over react and honestly I didn't disagree with him.'

'Well it looks like Ric just blew Jeremy's secret.' Damon commented, gesturing over to Ric talking to Elena, when I focused and felt her anger I knew we were in trouble.

'Uh-oh.'

Damon snorted in amusement before he leant over the bar and snagged a bottle of whiskey and the darts. He gestured for me to follow him over to the dartboard in the far corner and I complied, making sure to position myself so that Elena wouldn't be able to see me.

'Are you seriously hiding from your little sister right now?' Damon asked, laughing at my panicked expression.

'Have you seen her when she's angry?' I said, peeking over his arm to see her glancing around, I quickly moved back into my hiding place.

'Good point.' Damon nodded before he abruptly stepped forward, exposing me to Elena's view. I glared at his amused face before I guiltily turned to Elena when she shouted me.

'Kim!' She made her way over to me, 'did you know that Jeremy lost his job at the Grill?'

'Um… yeah kind of.' I admitted, holding my hands up defensively.

'What! Why didn't you tell me?' She demanded.

'Because I knew you'd react like this.' I carried on before she could continue yelling, 'Jeremy's going through a tough time right now, he basically lost Ana all over again and he lost Bonnie too. He's grieving, he may not be going about it the right way, but that's what he's doing.'

Her eyes softened a little as she nodded in understanding, ' I just worry about him you know? The last time he spiralled like this was when Mom and Dad died… I don't want him to go through that again.'

'He'll come out of it, like he did last time, it's just his process.' I squeezed her arm reassuringly before I took the darts off Damon to take my turn, 'just be grateful his wardrobe hasn't turned gothic again.'

That made her laugh, and I joined in with her, 'good point.' Elena agreed, 'it's a good job Jenna's in Denver for work; she would have been _much_ worse.' That made our laughter continue as we both imagined Jenna _trying_ to scold Jeremy.

I turned back to the dartboard, taking aim and releasing when I was satisfied; I got a bull's eye and two treble twenties, which made me turn to Damon with a smirk, which grew when I saw his dumbstruck expression. I walked up to the board and pulled out the darts, handing them off to Damon.

'All right, wipe that smirk off your face, princess. You made some lucky shots, it does not mean you're gonna win.' Damon said, his tone teasing though I could feel that he was a little worried.

'Hasn't anyone ever told you not to lie to an empath, Damon?' I smirked, ruffling his hair. Elena and I laughed when he glared at me but we both came to an abrupt stop when a British accent made its way over to us.

'Don't mind me.' Klaus said, his voice amused, which only fuelled my anger. Not thinking I reached and grabbed one of the darts from Damon's hand, I turned and threw it at his head. He caught it of course, but he cut it a little close; it was an inch away from embedding itself into his skin. I could feel his surprise, which then morphed into anger straight away, but he had nothing on me.

'Now, love, careful, wouldn't want me to think you're out to get me.' His tone was one of warning, which made Damon and Elena exhibit a little concern, but it didn't stop me from taking a step towards him.

'Don't you think you can come in here, throwing threats around, after being a virtual ghost for weeks, asshole.' I went to take another step but Damon placed himself in front of me. I could still see Klaus around him and noticed that though his expression was amused, he most certainly was not; he was _jealous._

'I think I can throw around as many threats as I want, love, seeing as you all wanted me dead.' Klaus said, his hard eyes focusing on me; I hated being on the other end of that gaze but I refused to look away.

'Well Klaus if you'd given me a chance-.' Elena placing her hand over my mouth cut me off, which increased my anger even more.

'I think you need to stop talking.' She whispered in my ear, and I could hear how worried she was over how pissed off Klaus seemed to be. I shrugged her off and continued to glare at him but otherwise remained quiet.

'You're going to do this here? It's a little beneath you don't you think?' Damon said, his tone calm and collected but I knew he was anything but. If I wasn't so pissed off I would have sent him a comforting wave, but in that moment I was seething.

'I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate.' Klaus said, gesturing behind him to Tony who was getting the drinks at the bar, he smirked when noticed that Tony looked a little afraid of me.

'All right Tony?' I asked, grinning over to him, I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing when he paled, 'I'm assuming Tony delivered my message?' I asked innocently, but I couldn't help the small smile that escaped when Elena snorted.

'He did,' Klaus said, trying to smother a laugh, 'now what was it…?' He trailed off as he pretended to try and remember, 'ah, yes! You run along to Klaus and tell him if he wants to know where we're going, what we're doing then he can grow some balls and ask me himself.'

Damon whistled in between his teeth, trying to smother his own laughter, 'well it was enough to scare your boy.' He gestured to Tony who refused to move from behind Klaus.

'Yes it does seem that way, doesn't it?' Klaus' expression suggested he was annoyed but I could tell he was actually amused and… _proud._ I quirked my brow at him when I sensed this; he simply smirked in response.

'I have to admit, I didn't think you'd stick around town long enough for happy hour.' Damon commented, his tone sarcastic.

'Truth is I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here. Oh I imagine you're wondering how does this is affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose. You have my word.' Klaus said, his tone eerily calm in a way that made my hair stand on end.

'What more could you _possibly_ want?' I asked, my own tone dripping venom as I stepped around Damon to face him.

He smiled humorlessly as he moved forward, stopping an inch from me, 'well for starters, love, you could tell me where I might find Stefan.'

'Oh, Stefan!' I said, my face lighting up in fake recognition before I let it drop as I stared blankly at him, 'I haven't seen him since the last time I saw him.' I heard Elena gasp in fear while Damon snorted in amusement.

I could feel his frustration growing, 'and when was that, love?'

'Coincidentally it was the same night that I last saw you,' I pursed my lips before continuing, 'you know the night you had a temper tantrum and stormed off? Ringing any bells?' I asked, aware that I was pissing him off more than I probably should but in all honestly, I didn't care.

Klaus smiled dangerously as he stepped forward, his body pressing against mine for a moment as he reached around me to take the darts out of Damon's hands. I tried to remain calm, but my body betrayed me; tingles broke out all over my body and my heart started pounding in my chest, I _ached_ for him and from the knowing smirk he gave me he knew it.

'Well you see, that is a shame.' Klaus said, throwing a dart in the direction of the dart board, I heard it connect but I didn't see where it went as I refused to break eye contact with him.

'A shame for you, I'll take it?' I smirked.

'Stefan stole from me.' He threw another dart and I heard it connect again, 'I need him found so I can take back what is mine.' He released the final dart but didn't move away from me or break away from my gaze.

'What did he take?' I asked, curiously.

He studied my expression for a moment, probably trying to decide if my confusion was genuine or not, I felt him decide I was in fact clueless before he continued, 'that's no matter of yours, love. Just find him for me and I can take it back before no one gets hurt.'

I rolled my eyes, 'sorry, love, I can't help you. That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem. You're a big bad Original hybrid I'm sure you can figure it out on your own.' I winked at him, moving to step back but he caught my wrist and pulled me against his chest.

He opened his mouth to speak but I spoke up, cutting him off, 'if you dare stand there and threaten any of my family and friends I can promise you, Klaus Mikaelson, you _will_ regret it.'

'Love, did _you_ just threaten _me?'_ He looked amused.

'If you have to ask than I obviously wasn't doing it right.' I mumbled, making him laugh lightly.

'Nik let the girl go.' Rebekah said, sounding annoyed as she came to stand beside Klaus, her arms crossed over her chest.

'Ah, my knight in shining amour has arrived.' I winked at Rebekah; she rolled her eyes but she still wore a small smile.

'This is no business of yours, Rebekah. Now run along sweetheart.' Klaus replied without looking away from me. I don't know how it happened it happened _that_ fast, but the next thing I knew I was standing next to Rebekah and Klaus had his back to the bar, as if he had been pushed, which he did _not_ look happy about.

'She's my best friend, Nik. Leave her alone.' Rebekah said, her voice firm and I felt my heart squeeze affectionately at her words and the fact that she was willing to stand by my side against her brother.

'Your best friend tried to have me killed, Bekah.' Klaus said, his voice furious, I could feel my own anger growing as well.

'If you would just let her explain then you would understand you absolute wanker!' Rebekah shouted, gaining the attention of a few customers.

'All right then, Bekah, I'll take your advice.' His eyes looked over to me; his expression was guarded and I hated it, 'so go on love, tell me your brilliant explanation.'

'Tell me how you remain innocent despite your knowledge of the plan against me,' he stepped closer, stopping an inch from me.

'Why should I bother?' I asked looking up to him with a defeated expression on my face, 'you've already decided that I've betrayed you. And we both know there's nothing I could say that would change your mind.'

I reached over to grab Elena's wrist, my other hand reaching for Rebekah, I gently pulled them with me as I made my way to the exit, desperately trying to fight off the defeated tears that wanted to stream down my face. He was never going to forgive me, he was never going to believe me, but at least he was _alive._ I was about a step from the door when Klaus suddenly appeared in front of me.

'Move, Klaus.' I said, my voice stern.

'Tell me.' He said simply.

'Move!' I yelled.

'Tell. Me.' He bellowed back.

'I KNEW IT WASN'T GOING TO WORK!' I shouted, and with that all of the fight left me and I suddenly felt drained, I looked up to meet his eyes as I continued, ' I knew it wasn't going to work. I told them not to bring Mikael here, but it was too late, he was here and threatening to kill everyone if Stefan didn't lure you back to Mystic Falls. The only reason I went along with it was because I knew that my friends, my family and… you _weren't_ going to die.'

I noticed that his expression remained serious but I could feel how apprehensive he was; he didn't believe me.

'You wanted the truth and I gave it to you. And you don't believe me, just like I knew you wouldn't. Now, _move.'_ I murmured, keeping my tone low to avoid it from breaking, when he didn't Rebekah huffed, pissed with him and shoved him out of the way, grabbing me and Elena and flashing us back to our house.

'You can come in.' I said softly as I unlocked the door, I didn't look back to see if Elena and Rebekah were following, I just went straight to the kitchen, desperate for a distraction. I heard the door softly close as I opened the fridge, looking at the contents but not seeing them.

'Kim…' Rebekah's soft voice snapped me out of my daze and I turned to her, forcing a smile on my face that she wasn't buying. I noticed Elena was gone but I didn't comment on it.

'I'm _starving_ I think I'm going to make a sandwich, do you want anything?' I didn't wait for her answer as I pulled out cheese, butter and ham from the fridge, walking to the bread bin and pulling out four rounds of bread, planning to make her a sandwich if she wanted one or not. I dipped the knife in the butter and started roughly buttering the bread, shredding it to pieces; soft hands took the knife away from me and laid it down on the counter.

'Please don't.' I looked up to Rebekah, 'don't ask me if I'm okay.' My lower lip trembled as I tried to hold myself together.

She didn't say anything, she just pulled my head to her chest as she wrapped her arms around me; her gentleness made the dam break and tears flowed down my cheeks showing no signs of stopping.

'He didn't believe me.' I whispered, 'I mean I didn't expect him to, I told myself that it didn't matter if he never trusted me again as long as he was _alive_. But I underestimated how much it would _hurt_.'

'Klaus is a paranoid idiot. He wants to believe you, but there's a part of him that will always be whispering in his ear that you can't be trusted. It's hard for him to believe that you would want to save his life when Mikael drilled it into his head that he didn't deserve to live.' Rebekah explained.

'I get it. That vision I showed you wasn't the only one I saw. There was another, Klaus and Elijah were messing around sword fighting and Klaus cut Elijah's belt as a joke. Mikael almost put a sword through his head when he said they were just having fun.' I sniffed, pulling away from Rebekah to grab a tissue.

She sat down at the table while I washed my hands and finished off the sandwiches, without butchering the bread. I laid hers out in front of her and took the seat to her left.

'I remember that day; Elijah's face was priceless,' She smiled a little as she remembered, 'and father's anger was terrifying. He was always like that, with us all, though Klaus always had it the worst.'

'Pathetic excuse for a father,' I muttered, taking a bite of my sandwich, 'you deserved better, Bekah. You all did.'

She gave me a soft smile as she finished the last bite of her sandwich, 'well now he's gone, and we can finally begin living again.'

'Exactly. We can have plenty of girl trips, we could see the world,' I grinned, her expression mirroring mine as she realized that she didn't have to worry about Mikael anymore.

She opened her mouth to reply but she was cut off when the front door opened; followed by Jeremy, Elena and Ric. I stood up, wiping the tears from my face as I walked forward and hugged Jeremy, sending him a wave of comfort when I felt how stressed he was.

'Sorry, bro, I didn't tell I promise.' I whispered low enough that Elena and Ric wouldn't be able to hear.

'I know, sis, I know.' He hugged me back, sending me a genuine smile when we parted, he went to sit at the far end of the table and I took my seat next to Rebekah.

'So what is this?' Jeremy asked, sounding like a teenager hacked up on attitude, 'an intervention?'

'Yep. We're worried about you, Jer. We just want you to know that we're here for you.' Elena said, and I was glad she wasn't pushing him like she probably would have done earlier.

'That's it?' He asked, looking suspicious.

'That's it.' I confirmed, sending him a reassuring smile.

'I know that, I promise.' Jeremy said, his tone becoming soft along with his expression.

'I'm glad, baby brother. Now do you want a sandwich for lunch?' I asked, standing up and taking mine and Rebekah's plates over to the sink.

'No, I'm good thanks. Tyler's coming over, we're going to hang out.' As soon as he said those words a feeling of dread washed over me; it was so strong that I actually dropped the plates. Glass smashed all over the floor, drawing everyone's attention to me; I ignored their concern and turned to Jeremy, my voice pleading.

'Jer, I don't think that's a good idea.' Just as I finished speaking, the doorbell rang, and I knew who it was.

'What? Why not? Because he's sired to Klaus? It's still Tyler!' Jeremy said his face scrunching up as he became angry, I didn't get the chance to respond before he turned to the front door and shouted, 'yo! Tyler, you can come in!'

'Jeremy! What have you done?' Elena said, horrified and with good reason. Tyler was sired to Klaus and if he wanted to get to one of us he had a free ticket now.

'Fan-fucking-tastic.' I muttered as I reached into the pantry and pulled out a broom, sweeping up the glass on the floor.

Rebekah snorted at my language but otherwise remained seated; Elena and Ric both took a seat at the table, leaving Tyler to sit in the seat I had vacated. Jeremy stood and got Tyler a drink of water, placing it in front of him.

'Thanks' Tyler said.

'This is weird. Klaus has hybrids stalking us and now you're just sitting in our kitchen,' Elena commented, making me laugh.

Tyler gave me a nervous look before he looked back to Elena, 'look maybe I should go.'

'No, stay; you're not doing anything.' Jeremy said, patting his shoulder.

'And you better not, that is if you like your heart remaining in your chest,' I smiled innocently. Tyler gulped and I could feel the fear radiating from him, which made me want to laugh; I don't know why he found me so intimidating but I wasn't going to complain about it.

'But if you have to check in with your hybrid master though, feel free.' Elena said, trying and failing to sound casual.

'Yes, do feel free. I of all people know how incessant the arse-hole can be,' Rebekah smiled.

Tyler laughed, looking in between Rebekah and Elena, 'it's not like that.'

'Tell me Tyler… what is the difference between being sired and compelled?' Ric spoke up, looking genuinely curious, I finished with the sweeping and walked over to stand behind Elena, my arms crossed over my chest as I waited for Tyler's answer.

'Compulsion, that's just mind control; like hypnosis. And being sired is… it's like faith. You do something because you believe it's the right thing.' Tyler answered.

'So you believe that serving Klaus and completing every order he gives you without question is the right thing?' I asked, raising my eyebrows in disbelief.

'I don't serve him. Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that.' Tyler explained.

'What if he told you to jump off a bridge?' Ric probed.

'He wouldn't do that. And even if he did, I'd be fine; I'm a hybrid,' Tyler shrugged.

'What if he asked you to rip out your own heart?' Rebekah asked.

'Oooo that's a good one,' I said, looking over to Tyler as I pointed to Rebekah, 'answer the lady.'

'He wouldn't ask me to do that.' Tyler insisted.

'But what if he did?' Ric prodded.

'I don't know! Then I'd rip out my heart,' He shouted, getting annoyed.

I wasn't surprised but everyone else was, if I wasn't part empath and I couldn't feel their shock then it would have been easy to read it from their expressions. I could feel Tyler's annoyance as he observed it for himself and he huffed in frustration.

'You guys sound like Caroline, getting all freaked out over something you don't understand.' Tyler muttered.

'You're right, Tyler we don't understand. We don't understand how you can wake up as a hybrid and suddenly not have any free will of your own.' I said, leaning down to become level with his gaze, he stared back unflinching.

'You're over-thinking it. I can still make my own decisions.' Tyler said; I didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or us in all honesty.

Jeremy's phone started to ring and without even thinking about it, I dived over the table and snatched it from him, reading the caller I.D. before I denied the call. I looked over to Jeremy, ignoring his annoyance, as well as everyone else's confusion as to why I was basically splayed out on the table.

'Jeremy, why aren't you wearing your vervain?' I asked, my voice eerily calm.

His annoyance turned into confusion as he looked down to his wrist where is bracelet usually was, 'I-I don't know.'

'Well I think somebody does,' I turned to Tyler, feeling his guilt, 'do you want to tell me _why_ you got my baby brother off vervain, Tyler?'

'Klaus asked me to.' He answered, looking a little panicked as he stood up from his chair with enough force for it to clatter to the floor.

'Get out. Now.' I said, my tone icy as I pointed to the front door; he left without another word. I looked back to the phone in my hand when it started ringing again; Klaus' name once again lighting up the screen.

'Go and drink a gallon of vervain. I don't know what he's compelled you to do, but let's not risk him adding to it.' I said, glad when Jeremy jumped up and followed my instructions. I pressed accept and put the phone to my ear.

'There he is!' Klaus said, his voice sounding cheerful, 'So, that thing I told you to do… why don't you go ahead and get on with it?'

I hung up the phone, fighting the urge to shout at him, knowing it wouldn't do any good. I wanted to buy us some time and I wanted him to think Jeremy was going to go through with his compelled orders, though I knew that Tyler would fill him in soon enough.

I got up from the table and went to the front door, looking up and down the street; I noticed a grey sedan stopped in the middle of the road about ten feet down the road and I walked over to it. I knocked on the window and gestured for them to wind the window down. I smiled when I was faced with Tony's paling expression.

'Whatcha doing here Tony? Now, don't lie.' I said, my voice sickly sweet as I put my arms on the car and rested my chin upon them.

'I-I was just-,' He stuttered, incredibly nervous.

'Leaving?' I suggested.

He nodded vigorously, 'yes, I was leaving.'

I stood back and patted his door, 'be on your way then. And tell Klaus to stop being a coward and to do his own dirty work, or the next hybrid he sends my way will not come back with their heart intact.' I smiled dangerously, before I waved and walked back into the house, pleased when I saw Tony's car turn off at the end of the street.

'You know what, you can be pretty terrifying.' Rebekah said, smirking.

'If only your brother thought the same thing.' I muttered, grabbing my car keys and my coat, 'do me a favor and make sure no one leaves, don't let Jeremy answer any phones and get Elena to make sure everyone is still wearing vervain.'

'I will, I promise.' She said, I thanked her and hugged her tightly before letting her go.

I got into my car and made my way over to the mansion that Rebekah had mentioned Klaus was building, my anger growing the further I went. I had warned him not to come after my family, but the asshole had done it anyway. I put the car in park and jumped out, not even bothering to close the door as I let myself into the mansion.

'Klaus? Asshole? Bastard? Where are you? Come out come out wherever you are! I know you're here, for god's sake.' I shouted, getting more and more annoyed when he still didn't show himself.

'What can I do for you, love?' Klaus asked, his voice coming from behind me. I whipped around, glaring at him; I must have looked pissed because the amused expression he was wearing immediately fell when he took in my appearance.

'I'll tell you what you can do for me you dick! Stop sending your little puppies after _my_ family! Otherwise I'll stop giving them friendly little warnings and start sending their heart's to you in a box.' I said, shoving his chest, actually managing to push him back a few steps.

'You come into my house and threaten me?' He said, sounding astounded rather than angry.

'I don't care where we are, you cannot go around threatening my family just because you aren't getting what you want!' I countered, not in the least bit intimidated.

'If Stefan would return what was mine then I wouldn't have to threaten anyone, love.'

'If you hadn't screwed Stefan over enough to make him want revenge on you, then he wouldn't have taken _anything._ This whole thing is _your_ fault. You screwed up.' I said, poking at his chest with every sentence.

'Stefan should never have crossed me, and he will pay for it,' Klaus promised.

'There you go again, you think just because you're invincible you can do no wrong? Well I hate to break it to you, buddy, but that's not how it works. In the real world you have to take the consequences for your own actions and _not_ force your fuck ups onto everyone else for them to fix.'

Klaus looked absolutely furious at my words, but I could feel that I was hitting a little too close to home, though I refused to feel bad about it; he needed to hear the truth from somewhere.

'You know, I've ripped out people's tongues for talking to me out of turn,' Klaus said, studying my expression as if he was looking for a sign of fear, but he wasn't going to find any.

'I'm not afraid of you, Klaus.' I said, looking him square in the eye, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach that were trying to make themselves known.

'No, you're not.' Klaus agreed, he looked away for a moment and when I saw the vulnerability in his eyes when he met my gaze again I knew what he was going to say, 'were you telling the truth? About knowing that the plan would fail?'

'Yes.' I answered immediately, not looking away from his gaze, allowing him to see the complete sincerity shining from my blue orbs.

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to; I could feel that he believed me and I could feel my heart leap in my chest. He stepped forward and pressed an almost affectionate kiss to my forehead, the connection making my skin tingle, wanting more, as if he knew this, his lips lingered for a few more moments before he pulled back.

'I'm sorry I ever doubted you.' He said, his voice low and sincere.

'That's all right.' I smiled, laughing softly when he looked surprised, 'I know you, Klaus. I knew you weren't going to believe me at first, granted that didn't stop it from hurting, but I was prepared for it. So I forgive you for doubting me this time, just don't ever do it again, okay?'

He smiled softly and nodded, he went to step forward again; I could feel the hunger coming from him but with all my restraint I held my arm out in front of me keeping him at a safe distance.

'Don't try and distract me with that,' I gestured to his whole body, making him smirk smugly, 'I want your word that you and your hybrids will stay away from my family.'

Klaus regarded me for a moment before he nodded, 'I give you my word that I will leave your family alone.' He promised.

I knew he was telling the truth and I nodded, satisfied with his answer. I still had my arm out in front of me, but Klaus didn't seem to care as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me flush against him. I knew there was no way that I could resist him now; I hadn't been with him in what felt like _so_ long and I couldn't resist the delightful tingles that crashed through my body any longer. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I knew he could feel it too. I waited; wanting him to make the first move for once, though my self-control was withering away by the second. His lips hovered over mine, about a hairs width away, making my lips itch in anticipation. What felt like an eternity later, when in fact it was a few seconds, he pressed his lips against mine softly. The contact made my whole body sing in pleasure. I brought my hand to caress the side of his face, my lips gently moving against his; we had never kissed in this way before, it was _tender_ and _affectionate,_ and I found myself delighting in it. I realized that this was his way of telling me how he felt, rather than vocalizing it, and I reciprocated the kiss in the same way. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine as we both regained our breath. I was about to bring his lips to mine, my hunger from him through the roof now that I had tasted him after _weeks,_ when someone burst into the room. I moved back from Klaus, reluctantly, to see who it was and I couldn't help but smirk when I saw Tony. He had his mouth open as if he was about to say something but his words got stuck in his throat when he spotted me standing a foot away from Klaus.

'Something the matter, mate?' Klaus asked, seeming confused at Tony's behaviour.

'It's okay, Tony. You can give him the message with me standing here.' I smiled though I could feel a ball of dread falling in my gut that quickly made my amusement fade.

'I-It's done.' Tony whispered, his eyes flickering nervously in my direction before he looked over to Klaus.

'What's done?' I demanded, turning to Klaus when Tony refused to meet my gaze, 'what have you done, Klaus?'

'I'm sorry, love.' He said, actually looking guilty.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Rebekah's number; she picked up on the third ring.

'Oh, Kim thank god! Alaric, he-,' She sounded panicked and I felt the worry grow in my gut.

'Bekah, slow down. Tell me exactly what happened.' I said, my voice soft and encouraging.

'I was trying to calm down Jeremy because he was angry and rambling about going to look for Tyler and I was trying to get him to Listen to me, but he was having none of it. Elena left with Damon to try and find Stefan and talk some sense into him, so there wasn't anyone else to notice Alaric answering the door to Tony disguised as a deliveryman. He asked for help to grab something out of his truck and as soon as he stepped outside he snapped his neck.' Rebekah rushed out, and I could tell she felt guilty.

'Bekah, it's not your fault I don't blame you.' I said, completely calm because I knew that Ric was wearing his ring; he would be fine, 'I just have an errand to run…' I said walking over to the far wall where there was a sword hanging up, I grabbed it, getting used to the weight as I casually turned around, 'I should be about thirty minutes okay?'

'Okay. I'll be here when you get home.' She promised.

I hung up the phone, placing it in my back pocket before I charged towards Tony, stabbing the sword into his gut, 'you see Tony, I know you're sired and all that, but I would have thought you would have made bit more of an effort to heed my warning.' I murmured, twisting the sword in his gut.

'What on earth are you doing?' Klaus asked, horrified.

'I'm following through on my threat.' I answered, abruptly pulling the sword out, I took his pain and felt guilt grow in my gut over what I was doing; 'now I know I said it would be the heart but I think the head will be easier.'

I brought the sword up over my head, bringing it down with as much force as I could muster; his head fell to the floor with a sickening thud. I had to hide my surprise over the fact that I had actually _killed_ someone, over the fact that Klaus had _let_ me kill someone, as I lowered the sword to the floor, holding it in a death grip.

I turned to Klaus, noting his horror and disbelief, 'you come after people I care about then be prepared to face the consequences.' I said, dropping the sword and turning to walk out of the door. I got into my car and drove in a trance; I refused to think about what I had just done I just focused on getting myself home. When I did I parked the car and walked into the house like a zombie, I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings so when Rebekah suddenly appeared in front of me after I closed the front door, I jumped.

'What the bloody hell happened to you?' She asked, taking in my appearance, I looked down at myself and noticed I was completely _covered_ in blood. It was all over my white t-shirt, all over my _hands_. I could feel myself start shaking as the reality of what I had done sank in.

'I-I killed him.' I whispered, tears falling down my cheeks, 'I killed Tony.'

Rebekah looked at me, shocked before she pulled me to her chest for the second time that day, offering me much needed comfort.

'It's okay, it's going to be okay.' Rebekah assured me, she pulled away, looking into my eyes, 'you protected your family. You told him what would happen if he went after them and he still did it anyway. You can't blame yourself for going to drastic measures to keep your family safe, Kim.' Her voice was soft and sincere and I realized that she was right; while I hated that I had to do what I did, I knew that it had to be done. Tony was sired to Klaus and despite my threats and warnings; he would continue to do as Klaus asked regardless. He had proceeded to attack my family despite my warning; it was his fault. I nodded, agreeing with Rebekah's words as I came to this realization.

The rest of the night passed in a blur; Ric eventually woke up on the sofa, completely fine. Elena came back, without Damon, looking completely pissed and destroyed; apparently Stefan had refused to give Klaus back what he had taken, saying that him going after our family didn't matter to him, which I'll admit irked me a little bit. It was eventually revealed that Klaus wanted the coffins containing his family back and I'm ashamed to say when I heard that was what Stefan had taken, I had felt a little bad for Klaus, knowing how much his family meant to him. Elena told me about how Jeremy had a little freak out while I was gone, talking about how we should pack our bags and leave, while we were all targets and pawns for Klaus to use in his ploy to get what he wanted from Stefan. It broke my heart, and I hated that he had to go through all of this at such a young age. Elena did too, apparently and suggested that we should ask someone to compel him to leave town, where he would be safer for the time being. I agreed, reluctantly, knowing it was for the best; Rebekah offered to do it for us, telling Jeremy that he was going to move to Denver and stay with family and leave Mystic Falls behind him without a second thought. I held Elena as she cried after that, biting back my own tears as I watched our little brother eagerly pack.

Rebekah and Ric eventually left, both going to their own homes. I kissed both Elena and Jeremy's foreheads as I checked up on them before I got into my own bed. I could see images of what I did to Tony flashing in front of my brain, but I pushed the guilt away. The images completely disappeared as I inhaled the scent coming from the shirt that had been stashed underneath my pillow; a blanket of calm and security washing over me as I fell into unconsciousness.

 **That concludes chapter sixteen! I hope you enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun bringing Klaus and Kim together in this one, though they are still on the rocks while Klaus is threatening those closest to her, hopefully they can work it out ;) Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to IMTB, khamilton16 and SwimmingInTheRain for choosing to either follow or favourite my story! It means a lot :)**

 _ **Yazzy97: Love your story-**_ **Thank you so much :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: My heart broke T.T. So sweet chapter but the end… love it, sad, but love it!**_ **I'm glad you liked it, and I know what you mean; I hated ending it that way, but I know how Klaus reacts to betrayal so it needed to be done :( Hopefully they can fix things soon, though, once the coffins have been returned anyway ;)**


	17. Our Town

Chapter Seventeen

I focused on the anger and the betrayal that I had felt yesterday when Klaus had given his word that he wouldn't harm anymore of my family… only for his hybrid to come and reveal that he had done just that not five minutes later. I raised my right fist, punching with all my strength, then rebounding with my left. The punching bag swung away and I kicked it as it returned to my direction. I readied myself to punch it again when someone caught it from behind and kept it away from me.

'What the hell?' I said, raising my arms in frustration as I moved to the side to see who was holding it, 'Elena, get off!'

'No, you've been on it for an hour. I have some frustration to channel myself.' She muttered.

I blinked and looked at the clock; sure enough it had been an hour. Huh; I was no less angry and annoyed than I had been when I started, but I moved over to Ric's kitchen counter and poured myself _another_ cup of coffee. I knew Elena was struggling with her feelings for Damon, so I didn't push her. I tuned out the smacking from behind me as her arms and legs connected with the punching bag over and over again. I could sense Ric's worry as he glanced in between Elena and me, wondering what had gotten us both so worked up; we didn't say anything, leaving him to his imagination, knowing he'd probably assume we were upset about Jeremy leaving. Which in all honesty we were, I felt bad that we had asked Rebekah to compel him, but I just needed him to be _safe_ and honestly I didn't trust Klaus' word as much as I had yesterday when he'd promised me that no one else would get hurt. Maybe I still would if I hadn't found out about Ric getting his neck snapped by Tony.

'So, what's the plan today? You got anything planned for Care's birthday?' I asked Elena when she joined me at the counter, taking a cup of coffee for herself after I had glared at her warningly when she tried to take mine.

'Yeah, we're all meeting up early to decorate her locker and gather her presents and stuff.' Elena murmured after she had taken a gulp of her drink before she looked over to Ric, 'have you spoken to Damon today?'

'No, why?' He was clearly confused, and I avoided his eyes, worried about giving anything away.

'No reason,' Elena replied casually as she looked away from Ric; I felt his confusion grow and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

'What's got you two so worked up this morning anyway?' Ric asked, his eyes flickering in between the two of us, worried.

I shrugged and answered honestly, 'Klaus gave me his word that he wouldn't hurt anymore of my family, not ten minutes later one of his hybrids ran in to tell him that he had killed you. I'm pissed at him and myself for believing him.' I said, gulping down the remaining coffee.

'In all fairness he probably forgot that he had ordered someone to do that… you two get pretty distracted around each other.' Elena commented, rolling her eyes when I glared at her.

'What about you, Lena? Why are you so worked up?' I asked her, fluttering my lashes innocently when she scowled at me.

'I didn't really sleep.'

'Yeah me neither… I think it had something to do with dying.' Ric said, sounding concerned about the reliability of his ring.

'Yeah, that's another reason why Jeremy has to get out of town. If those rings have a shelf life, he is not protected, neither are you.' Elena replied, grabbing her keys from the table before she gave Ric a small smile and left. Looked like I was walking home then. I wasn't too angry though; I knew her head was all over the place at the moment. I went back to the punching bag, I didn't stop until I noticed Ric pulling on his jacket and heading towards the door. I wiped my forehead, though it didn't really make much difference seeing as I was sweating through every orifice; all I did was smear more sweat on my face. I looked over to the clock and gaped when I saw the time; I'd been at this for _hours_.

'Where are you going?' I asked Ric, walking over to the sink and filling a glass from the tap.

'Founders meeting, Damon's picking me up. You want a lift, or are you gonna keep going?' He asked, jutting his chin in the direction of the punching bag.

I gulped down the whole glass of water before I answered, making my way in his direction, 'nah. I'm exhausted.'

Ric laughed and opened the door, gesturing for me to go out first, I thanked him and made my way down the stairs, cringing at how much my muscles were already aching. I got into the back seat of Damon's car without hesitation, desperate to sit down, as soon as my ass connected with the seat I slumped and released a heavy sigh.

'What's on your mind, princess?' Damon asked, seeming amused.

'Tired.' I replied, Damon and Ric laughed at my lack of an answer and laughed harder when they looked back to see my eyes closed as I leaned back into my seat. I knew I wouldn't fall asleep, but it was nice to rest my eyes and do _nothing_ for a little while. I was enjoying the serenity so much, in fact that I didn't realize that the drive to my house took a little longer than it usually did. If I had actually paid any attention, I would have seen us turn in the opposite direction as Damon drove to the Lockwood mansion. The car came to a stop and I kept my eyes closed as I savored my last few moments of peace, until my door opened and I was forced to open them. I got out of the car moving to close the door behind me when I heard it slam shut as Damon did it for me. I was about to thank him for the ride when I looked up and saw where we were.

'What the hell?' I looked over to him, confused, 'I don't live here.' I said, as if he didn't already know that.

'Well, I didn't have time to drop you off at home so I figured you could join in on the festivities.' Damon smirked, enjoying my discomfort.

'Damon! Do I _look_ dressed for a founders party?' I shouted, but apparently I wasn't intimidating enough because he just carried on walking, 'Damon! I probably stink of sweat!'

'You're fine, trust me I would know,' He muttered, waving his hand dismissively as he carried on walking. Ric walked beside him, his head down indicating that he didn't want any part of the conversation. Seeing as I was already out of the car and it was locked behind me, I had no choice but to follow them. I refused to be embarrassed by the fact that I was wearing a black and white Nike sports bra and black spandex shorts with my black Nike foot wear. I mean I was _sure_ I'd fit right in, with everyone else wearing shirts and dresses.

'Do they have food?' I asked as soon as we had walked through the door, ignoring the glares and lingering stares I was getting from varying individuals. Damon looked at me like I had grown a second head at how drastically my mood had changed, but he did point me to another room where the food was. I went in that direction eagerly; I hadn't eaten all day and I was _starving_ , when I spotted the table I was briefly excited, only to be immediately disappointed at the lack of variance. There were crackers, small blocks of cheese and some grapes. For a buffet it was pathetic, but seeing as I was desperate I grabbed a plate, putting a handful of everything on my plate. Once I was satisfied with my amount I turned, carefully navigating in between people as I tried not to drop anything.

I walked over to sit at the table where Damon and Alaric were as they talked about a model of something in the middle of the room; in all honesty I wasn't really paying any attention, I was too focused on my food. I saw a pale hand try and take something from my plate and I slapped it, glaring at Damon in warning, making him retreat.

'Easy, princess.' Damon held his hands up defensively, though he was biting his lip to stop himself from laughing.

'I had no idea you were so protective of your food,' Ric commented, also trying to smother his amusement.

'I'm hungry, and all I have are some crackers, grapes and _tiny_ blocks of cheese to satisfy myself so if you want to lose a hand, by all means go for it.' I said gesturing to my plate with a warning glare on my face.

'Someone's hangry,' Damon smirked, I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me, so I just rolled my eyes and continued eating my food; I placed a block of cheese onto the cracker and then bit into it, annoyed with the lack of flavor.

'So, what are we doing here anyway?' I asked once I had finished my last grape; I was still a little hungry, but for the most part I was satisfied.

'Something's up with her. Elena. More than usual; do you know what it is?' Ric asked, not answering my question, but I didn't mind because Ric's inquiry made Damon squirm a little.

'Yeah, Damon, _do_ you know what it is?' I asked, blinking innocently as he glared at me.

'I'm sure it starts with a Stef ends with a an.' Damon dismissed, looking anywhere but me, which made me laugh.

Ric looked to me with a look of realization on his face, 'you know?'

'Yeah, but I'm sworn to secrecy, sorry Ric,' I said patting his shoulder, grinning when he comprehended I wasn't going to give him an answer to Elena's odd behaviour either.

'Anyway… I'm going to get a drink, write a check and then we're out?' Damon said, looking in between the two of us as he waited for us to agree, when we both nodded he moved over to the bar, leaving us sat at the table.

'So…' I trailed off, trying to think of something to talk about, but I stopped when a slender brunette came and took Damon's vacated seat next to Ric. I raised my brows at her forwardness, but when I felt the attraction coming from them both I suddenly became uncomfortable. I decided to wander around while I waited for Damon to finish up before we could leave. I was thinking about how Jenna and Ric breaking up had been a shock to us all when I had returned from my unplanned road trip, as I was walking out of the main room, planning to go to the room containing the disappointing buffet, but I walked into someone in the hallway. I immediately put my hands out to steady whoever it was, when I saw it was Carol Lockwood I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing at the irony; of _course_ it was The Mayor.

'I'm so sorry, Mayor Lockwood. I wasn't looking where I was going.' I explained.

'That's okay, no damage done.' She forced a smile before she looked over my shoulder and I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up almost as if my body recognized who it was immediately. My head whipped around and my eyes met his; his blue orbs were sparkling with amusement.

'Hello, love. Fancy meeting you here.' He murmured, his eyes looking me up and down as he took in my outfit; his eyes darkened as he basically undressed me with his eyes and I had to force my body to _not_ respond to that look. Though my heartbeat did betray me and pick up a little, enough for him to notice if his smirk was anything to go by.

'Did you really just use that line on me?' I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest, 'you may have been around since before that line was invented but that doesn't mean it'll work.'

'Oh, really?' He grinned at me, his amusement growing as I glared back.

'Really,' I snapped, I turned to where Carol was standing, only to notice that she had disappeared, I frowned in confusion, 'where the heck did she go?' I murmured under my breath, trying to remember but I came up blank.

'You were a little distracted, love.' Klaus smirked smugly.

'My god you're annoying. Is Rebekah with you?' I asked.

'No, funnily enough I couldn't convince her to come to a founders meeting. Why are you here by the way? Don't take me wrong, I'm not complaining, you look especially ravishing tonight.' His voice turned husky as his eyes trailed over my body again; I could feel my skin burn pleasantly where his gaze roamed.

'I was forced. I'm not here willingly.' I replied, looking around the room for some form of escape.

'By who?'

'Damon and Ric,' I raised my brows when I felt the jealously coming from him when I mentioned Damon's name, 'what the _hell_ is that?'

'I don't share what is mine.' He said as if it was obvious but it definitely _wasn't._

'I'm sorry, did I black out the part where I agreed to being _yours_?'

'You declared that you were mine when you offered yourself to me for the first time, love.' Klaus smirked.

'I know that you're older than everyone I know combined, but this is the twenty first century, Klaus. Women have their own rights now and they can do what they damn well please. Meaning I can sleep with as many men as I _want_ without ever belonging to them, just like I _don't_ belong to _you.'_ My voice was dripping with anger and as soon as I finished speaking I made a move to walk away but Klaus caught me by my arm and pulled me flush against him.

'I don't think I like your answer, love.' Klaus' eyes glittered dangerously and the anger radiating from him seemed to make him look even more pissed.

'Well I didn't like you lying to my face yesterday, Klaus, but what are you gonna do?' I asked, my tone sarcastic.

Klaus was about to reply, his hand gripping my forearm unconsciously tighter, but Damon and Carol's appearance interrupted him. He may have stopped talking, but he didn't release me, instead he moved me to his side and placed his arm around my waist, his fingers playing with the exposed skin. I felt his touch on every nerve ending in my body and I hated myself for wanting more. I tried to move away but he squeezed my waist gently in warning.

'Look what the cat dragged in. Nice vest.' Damon said, his tone nonchalant but I could feel his worry and it only grew when his eyes lingered on Klaus' hand on my waist.

'Don't mind him, he's having a pissing contest.' I muttered, pointing my thumb in Klaus' direction, he squeezed my waist again making me roll my eyes, 'get off me, Klaus.' My tone booked no argument, but he didn't take any notice of me. I shook my head as if I was disappointed, annoyed that I had to stoop to these measures; I channeled the pain I had taken from the hybrid yesterday and amplified it in Klaus' direction as I took his hand on my waist and moved it away. Because of the pain, I was able to catch him off guard, though I practically stumbled in Damon's direction once I was free of Klaus' grip, because I couldn't cause him pain without feeling it myself.

'Ouch, that looks nasty,' Damon taunted, I sent him a warning look and thankfully he listened and shut up. I could feel Carol's confusion and I sent her a wave of reassurance without looking at her, not wanting to give any more away.

'You shouldn't have done that, love,' Klaus was seething.

'You shouldn't treat me like a piece of property, asshole.' I replied, not flinching away from his glare. I felt Damon pull me back and place me behind him, which wasn't helping Klaus' jealousy; I didn't even understand why he was jealous of Damon; he was my friend. I sent a wave of reassurance to him, annoyed that he was feeling that way and I was glad when it simmered into nothing and he seemed to calm down a bit.

'Klaus and I were discussing about whether you would be the other big benefactor, Damon, what do you say? Klaus has made a very generous pledge.' Carol said, forcing a smile on her face as she looked between Klaus and me nervously; I took her anxiety and sent her a wave of calm, glad when her forced smile became more relaxed and genuine.

'Carol, don't take this the wrong way, but do you realize that you've been kissing the ass of an immortal hybrid who ruined your son's life?' Damon asked, looking to Carol with an ironic smile on his face.

'Oh, come now. Some would say that I saved him from all that nasty full moon business. I've never had to go through it myself more than twice, to be honest, but still; I'm very sympathetic.' Klaus countered, his voice almost mocking.

'You wouldn't know the definition of sympathetic if it bit you in the ass.' I said, unable to bite my tongue, Klaus just quirked his brow in amusement, and it annoyed me that he felt humored when I was trying to annoy him.

'Klaus promised to protect Tyler, Damon. And our town.' Carol said, ignoring the fact that I had spoken completely.

'From who? His hybrids are the one the town needs protection from.' Damon muttered, his hands waving around frantically as he became more and more annoyed, it was actually pretty amusing to watch.

'Well, I'd have no use for them if your brother would kindly return my family,' Klaus said, sipping from the glass he's grabbed from a passing waiter, his eyes glittering in annoyance.

'Not gonna happen.' Damon said confidently.

'That's what I thought, which is why I've come to an agreement with the Mayor. You and the Council stay out of my hair, I stay out of yours. Your town gets protected, my hybrids get left alone and everybody will be happy. All you have to do is to get Stefan to stop decapitating my friends.' Klaus said, his anger evident as he smiled dangerously at Damon.

'Please Damon, just get your brother under control or the council will be forced to take action against him.' Carol said, her tone unwavering.

I looked at her for a moment, processing her words and the fact she was siding with Klaus, and then I glanced over to Damon and I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face. He was completely dumfounded; he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

'You've got to be _kidding_ me!' He yelled, but not loud enough to draw attention to us.

Carol shook her head and left, leaving us with an amused Klaus, though I suspected he found my reaction funny more than anything else.

'Oh come on, mate. Give peace a chance.' Klaus smirked before he swallowed what remained of his drink and turned to leave as well. Damon stared at his retreating figure with a mixture of annoyance and amusement on his face before he looked at me and rolled his eyes at the fact I was grinning at him.

'That was hilarious. I wish I'd recorded it,' I shook my head, disappointed at the wasted opportunity, 'you've got to be _kidding_ me!' I mimicked, laughing again when he glared at me.

'We're out of here.' He said, moving to walk to the door.

'Wait, I just need to use the bathroom first.' I said, gesturing up the staircase, 'if I'm longer than ten minutes then I've been kidnapped.' I joked as I made my way up the grand staircase, ignoring the comments I heard middle-aged men making about my ass. I finished up in the bathroom quickly, washing and drying my hands before I made my way back out into the hall, about to go down stairs when I heard a bang. Frowning I turned down the corridor it was coming from, starting to worry when I could feel that someone was in pain. I saw Stefan with a knife to a hybrids neck and without even thinking I channeled pain and sent it towards both of them. The hybrid passed out pretty quickly, not old enough or strong enough to cope with the pain I had been inflicting on him, and once I realized this I dropped my hand, glad it hadn't taken much; if I went far enough I wouldn't be able to pull myself back.

'What the _hell_ are you doing you psycho?!' I demanded, looking at Stefan as if he had lost his mind, which at this point I was pretty sure he had.

'I told Klaus to get his hybrids out of town and he didn't listen. So now I'm going to say it louder.' Stefan said, his voice sounding slightly unhinged as he went to reach for the knife he had dropped.

I raised my hand in his direction in warning, 'do it and I will cause you pain you couldn't possibly imagine. This is a stupid move, Stefan. You don't think there are ten more where that came from? And if you kill them, Klaus won't make twenty more? Have you forgotten about Elena's part in all of this? Or do you not care if she is a human blood bag for the rest of her life?' I rambled, keeping my hand out in front of me incase he decided to move for the knife after all, thankfully he didn't; he walked away from the body, stopping a meter away from me.

'I don't care about Elena anymore, that's yours and Damon's job now,' Stefan smirked, but I could feel the contempt and guilt coming off him.

'Are you seriously trying to lie to me right now? The girl who can literally _sense_ how people feel, you're gonna try and tell that girl that you don't feel anything?' I said, my voice sarcastic.

'You're right, Kim I can't lie to you; you feel how everyone feels even when they don't want you to know. And you know what else? You can see the future; your instincts and visions are the most reliable ones in the supernatural community.' Stefan said, his expression turned dark and calculating and I knew where he was going with his little speech before he finished speaking, ' _and_ you're Klaus' mate. I think he'd give or do just about _anything_ to keep you alive.'

'I highly doubt that, you know that witch was talking a bunch of nonsense, Stefan.' I said, keeping my voice clam and collected, but I did step back when Stefan took a step closer to me.

'I wasn't talking about what the witch said, Kim.' He said as my back met the wall, he leaned close and whispered in my ear, 'I was talking about what I heard Mikael say.'

I forced myself not to react, but I knew that if he had heard everything he had said than I was screwed. He would know that he can literally hurt Klaus by hurting me and he would know the dangers of one of us living without the other. With how unstable he was in that moment I had no idea if he would go as far as to kill me, which wasn't very comforting. Stefan roughly grabbed my face and smashed the back of my head against the wall, making me fade into the darkness, but before I was completely gone I registered that Klaus had felt it too and I knew he was worried.

'Son of a bitch,' I muttered, my hand immediately going to the back of my head, I flinched when I encountered a bump the size of a large egg at the base of my skull. I blinked, and when I looked around I realized that I was in Stefan's car. Stefan's _moving_ car.

'Where the hell are we going?' I said, my tone demanding as I turned to Stefan in the drivers seat. I could feel the remorse and guilt coming from him over what he had done, but I refused to feel any sympathy for him in that moment; I knew that he was going to see whatever his plan was through no matter how bad he felt about it.

Before he could answer, my phone started to ring; I reached into my sports bra and pulled it out. I went to answer it but it was pulled out of my grasp before I could.

'Sorry, Damon she's a _little_ busy right now.' Stefan said, the crazy edge still in his voice.

'Klaus knows you have her and he is _seething_. I suggest you pack in whatever stupid idea you're planning right now.' Damon whispered which made me wonder if Klaus was close by.

'No, Damon. You said I needed to be smarter right? Well, this is me being smart. He won't let her die.' Stefan _sounded_ confident but I could feel his uncertainty.

'And if he doesn't care? Are you willing to follow through and kill her?' Damon asked, waiting for his answer, and so was I; his instability was making him unpredictable to even _me_ right now.

'Goodbye, Damon.' Stefan said hanging up the phone before he scrolled through my contacts and found Klaus' name. He tapped the phone icon and it dialed; he picked up after the first ring.

'Love? Are you all right?' Klaus asked, he sounded worried and I wished I could take it away.

I went to answer him but Stefan spoke up before I could even open my mouth, 'tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus.'

'That's not going to happen until I get my coffins back,' I could practically see the dangerous smile that was most likely on Klaus' face in that moment.

'Okay, well then, I'm gonna drive your mate off Wickery Bridge.' Stefan said simply, and I felt my gut clench in fear when I realized where we were.

'I don't believe you, Stefan. You won't kill her.' Klaus said, his voice sounded sure but I could feel how worried he actually was; he couldn't tell how far Stefan was going to go either.

'Won't I?' Stefan asked, speeding up the car.

'Slow down, Stefan.' I said, my voice low as I tried to control the fear in my voice. I hadn't been over this bridge since they died, and now I might actually be meeting the same fate. Stefan didn't listen to me, instead he sped up and I felt my heart beat faster inside of my chest in fear.

'Stop the car Stefan! Now! Let me _out!'_ I shouted, not caring how terrified I sounded, not caring that tears were streaming down my cheeks; I just wanted out of the car.

'Stop the car, Stefan!' Klaus shouted.

'Send away your hybrids.' Stefan countered, his voice completely calm.

Klaus apparently took too long to answer because Stefan pressed his foot down on the accelerator harder.

'Stefan, stop it. Please, stop!' I begged, virtually hysterical.

'Okay, I'll do it. I'll send them away, you win.' Klaus said, his voice defeated and concerned.

Stefan responded by going even faster, making my heart jump into my mouth.

'Stop the car, Stefan, stop the fucking car!' I screamed, my throat feeling raw.

'STOP THE CAR STEFAN!' Klaus shouted, so loud it was almost as if he was in the car as well, Stefan abruptly slammed the breaks on, forcing the car to skid to a stop. I grabbed my phone off him and got out of the car immediately, slamming the door behind me as I tried to get oxygen into my lungs. I walked over to the side of the bridge, sitting down with my back against the railing as I moved my head between my knees, trying to control my breathing.

I felt someone touch my hands and when I looked up into Stefan's concerned gaze I pushed him away, 'get away from me. You can go now. Sure you nearly gave me a panic attack but what does it matter as long as you got one up over on Klaus?' My tone was toxic, absolutely furious that someone I had considered a friend had been willing to let me die as long as he could win a pissing contest.

'Kim, I needed to get him to blink-,' He tried to explain but I cut him off.

'My parents _died_ on this bridge, Stefan, but then again you already knew that.' I stood poking at his chest, still holding my phone in the other hand; I could feel the tears still streaming down my face, refusing to stop.

'Your fear sold it, Kim.' Stefan said, his voice laced with regret.

'What if it hadn't?' I said.

'But it did!'

'What if it hadn't?' I shouted, demanding an answer.

'But it did, Kim, now I know his weakness and I can destroy him!'

'You mean me? You're going to _use_ me to destroy him?' I scoffed, completely pissed.

'No, his family.' Stefan said, and I was relieved to feel he was telling the truth.

'That's all that matters to you? Destroying Klaus?' I said, shaking my head in disbelief, 'what about Elena?'

'I lost her the minute I left town with him, she just hasn't let herself admit that yet.'

'That may be so, but you can still make the effort and try and fix it, rather than fixating on taking down the only supernatural being on earth that literally _cannot_ be killed, you idiot!' I shouted, getting more and more pissed off with his actions; it was as if he had a death wish.

He didn't have an answer to that, instead he just got in his car and drove away, but I could feel his realization when he recognized that I actually had a point. It didn't hit me that I was basically stranded until I couldn't hear the roar of Stefan's engine anymore. I swore under my breath and unlocked my phone, moving to my favorites list. I was about to dial Elena when I remembered that she had texted me that she and her friends were getting drunk in a cemetery for Care's birthday- no, I didn't ask. My eyes unwillingly flickered to the name that had been put at the top, against my knowledge, before I could lose my nerve I pressed call and brought the phone to my ear.

'Stefan, I swear to god-,' Klaus started to threaten but I cut him off.

'Stefan's gone. Thank you for doing that by the way.' I said, awkwardly looking down to my feet as I kicked an imaginary stone on the floor.

'Of course, love.' Klaus replied, his voice much softer now that he knew I was okay.

'Would you mind coming to pick me up?' I asked, my voice tentative.

'Where are you?' He asked, his willingness making me smile.

'On Wickery Bridge.' I answered, swallowing the lump in my throat as I tried not to look over my shoulder, where my parents had _died._

'I'll be there in a minute, love.' Klaus promised before he hung up the phone. I sighed, relieved that he was on his way. I turned around and faced the water, placing my shaking hands onto the railing as I carefully looked over. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks once more as I pictured exactly what had happened here. My parents went off this bridge and didn't come back alive; I couldn't stop the sob that crawled its way up my throat and I didn't want to. I had held back so many tears when my parents had died because I wanted to be strong for Jeremy and Elena, but my parents deserved to be grieved; they were incredible and they were loved. I just wish I could tell them that one last time. I felt the exact moment that Klaus arrived; I could feel his concern as well as his relief that I was in fact okay, well physically anyway. As soon as I met his gaze, I didn't hesitate; I threw my arms around his waist, hugging him hard. I closed my eyes and nuzzled into his chest, inhaling his scent; I felt his hands wrap around my waist, his palms flattening against my back, his thumbs moving back and forth comfortingly. I felt my breathing slow down to normal, and I was grateful for the calmness and security that washed over my body, feelings that only his touch could offer me. Klaus didn't say a word, he just let me hold him for as long as I needed and I honestly couldn't put into words how grateful I was for that.

'I haven't been on this bridge since that day.' I whispered, my face still buried in his chest, but I knew he would be able to hear me, 'after they died I had to be strong for Elena and Jeremy, and the only way I could do that was by pretending it didn't happen. When Elena and Jeremy started to cope with it, I lost that distraction and I started to fall apart and that's when I-,' I broke off with a sob; Klaus hugged me tighter.

'That's when you left,' Klaus finished for me, his voice soft. I nodded against his chest but otherwise remained quiet, 'it's okay to miss them, love. You just have to remember that they would want you to keep living.'

I sniffed as I considered his words; I had accepted that my Mom and Dad were gone at some point in the past few months, but I had also felt guilty over abandoning Elena and Jeremy. Klaus was right; I had every right to miss them and grieve- they were my _parents._ I had to stop punishing myself for how I had reacted when they had died; I had to let them go but remember that they would be with me if I ever needed them. I pulled back slightly to meet his eyes, though the rest of my body was still aligned with his.

'Thank you.' I whispered.

'Of course, love.' He smiled softly, one of his hands gently caressing the side of my face, his thumb moving back and forth affectionately; he leaned forward and kissed my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin for a moment and I knew that we both needed the contact. When he pulled back he rested his forehead against mine, 'let's get you home, shall we love?'

My eyes had closed at some point, but at his words they snapped open; I didn't want to be alone right now. His presence bought me tranquility and I wasn't ready to let go of that yet. He seemed to notice this and he smiled softly as he leaned down and picked me up, carrying me bridal style; I happily rested my face into the crook of his neck, enjoying the feeling of his skin on mine. I closed my eyes for a moment, knowing what he was going to do, when I opened them literally thirty seconds later, we were at his mansion. I expected him to put my down, but he didn't; instead he carried me up the stairs, along a long hallway until he stopped at a specific door, he pushed it open with his foot and then kicked it shut once he had stepped inside. I couldn't make out the details of the room because it was pitch black, but I squealed a little when the cold sheets he gently placed me down on made contact with my exposed skin. I kicked my shoes off and moved over patting the bed as I hoped he would get in too. A moment later he did and I almost moaned when my hand made contact with his bare chest. As if he sensed my excitement he chuckled a little before he moved his arm to my waist, pulling me against his chest. I happily snuggled into him, holding him close as my legs became tangled in his; my eyelids started to droop pretty quickly and the last thing I registered before I was out was the feel of Klaus kissing my hair.

 **There's chapter seventeen! I hope you liked it, I really enjoyed writing this one; it's fun to see Kim and Klaus' bond growing stronger and when they complete the ritual their connection will be unbreakable. Let me know what you think!**

 **Would like to say a huge thank you to EmpressZee for giving my story a follow and a favorite, it means a lot! :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: Your story is sooo realistic! I mean the reactions, actions and everything, like this could have really happened. LOVE IT!**_ **Thank you so much, that means a lot; it takes me a while sometimes to actually sit and consider how each character would react to a certain situation, because I don't want their reaction to be something I couldn't imagine them doing, so I'm glad you find it realistic :)**


	18. The Ties That Bind

Chapter Eighteen

I was warm, very _pleasantly_ warm. I felt completely calm and cosy, not wanting to give that up yet, I nuzzled deeper into the pillow I was laying on, only to realise that it wasn't a pillow. It was a chest, a _bare_ chest. I frowned, my eyes still closed as I tried to remember what had happened the previous day, though the sleepy fog in my brain made it difficult. After a while I gave up; the fog was too thick and I was too comfortable to worry about it. I felt myself being lifted and when I was gently put back down I registered I was lying on top of a body. His hands wound around my waist, and mine went to his neck as my head rested above his heart, the steady beat lulling me to sleep once more.

'Nik! Nik! Oh for goodness sake you cannot seriously still be in-,' Rebekah's voice broke off, but she had already succeeded in waking me up. I blinked up at her, annoyed, which only grew when I had to cover my eyes because of the sunlight that was now invading the room.

'Bekah, do you mind?' I muttered, moving my head back to its original position.

'You two are almost _cute.'_ Bekah said and I could hear the smirk in her voice.

Funnily enough, I had forgotten that I was at Klaus' mansion as he had brought me here last night, at my request, seeing as I didn't want to be alone after Stefan went nuclear and threatened to kill me. I remembered getting into bed with Klaus and nuzzling against his chest before I fell asleep, and now I was here lying _on top_ of him, my head on his chest and my arms around his neck. His hands were still securely wrapped around my waist, as they had been when he had moved me into this position however long ago. Klaus of course was still asleep, his eyes or ears not bothered by the disruption.

'Thank you.' I mumbled to Rebekah, fully intending to go back to sleep, 'I assume it's your brother you were after so I'm gonna go back to sleep.'

'Are you serious? It's one in the afternoon! Nik's usually up by at least ten, that's why I'm here.' Bekah said, sounding a mixture of appalled and amused.

'No it's not,' I said, panicked as my eyes snapped open. I tried to move so that my eyes could look for a clock but Klaus' supernatural strength wasn't leaving me much room for movement.

'It is. Need help there, sweetheart?' Bekah said, sounding amused, I heard her make her way over to the side of the bed and I looked up at her with big doe eyes. She rolled her eyes but did smile as she reached down and attempted to remove Klaus' hands from my body, her grip slipped at one point, making her basically slap my ass. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the horrified look on her face, my amusement made Klaus smile in his sleep and pull me slightly tighter.

'Come on, Bekah you're an _Original_ for Christ sake.' I muttered as she failed to loosen Klaus' grip. Eventually she huffed and held her hands up in a defeated gesture.

'He is not letting go of you anytime soon.' She said, crossing her arms and shaking her head in disbelief.

'Oh for heavens sake,' I muttered, 'well this calls for drastic measures.'

'Oh, no you're not going to-,' She cut off, a disgusted look on her face when she saw me put my index finger into my mouth, like I had in Chicago, before I put it into his ear and wriggled it around. I saw Bekah stiffen as she waited for him to abruptly sit up like he did the last time I completed this activity, but he just shook his head, shaking my finger out of his ear and then happily sighed.

'God dammit! What the hell am I supposed to do now?' I wondered, genuinely at a loss.

'Get comfortable?' Rebekah suggested with a laugh, which only continued when I glared at her.

'This is _not_ funny.'

'It's a little funny.' Bekah countered, her nose wrinkling a little when she tried to stop her laughter, I shook my head at her and turned back to Klaus.

'Klaus! Wake up, someone's trying to murder me!' I shouted, trying to make my voice sound panicked, and by some miracle it actually _worked_ , he shot up, taking me with him and bending me in an awkward position, mind you, but at least he was awake.

'What the-,' Klaus broke off when I brought the fact that my back was bending the wrong way to his attention. As quick as a flash he flipped me over so that my back was now against his chest, his hands still around my waist, which wasn't exactly helpful seeing as I was trying to get _out_ of his grip.

'Rebekah, sweetheart, what can I do for you?' Klaus asked, his voice sounding huskier due to the fact he had just woken up, I tried to ignore what that did to my body as I waited for Bekah's reply.

'Well, Nik I was just checking that you hadn't been kidnapped, seeing as it is one in the afternoon. You haven't slept this late in _centuries_.' Bekah responded, looking bewildered.

Klaus blinked at her as he tried to process her words, when he realised the time his mouth hung open in shock, 'well I haven't really slept since…' he glanced down at me before he answered, 'since the night at the high school.'

'But that was ages ago!' I said, shocked.

'Believe me, love, I know.' He muttered, now that he mentioned it I did notice that his expression was much brighter now that the dark circles underneath his eyes had quelled considerably.

'So _that's_ why you've been so cranky,' I teased, grinning at Bekah when she laughed.

'Yes, sweetheart, Nik with no sleep is not a pleasant sight to behold.' Bekah agreed.

'You should have heard him yesterday,' I rolled my eyes teasingly, 'I don't share what is mine,' I mimicked in a terrible British accent.

'Women are not pieces of property, Nik,' Rebekah said in a somewhat scolding tone as she shook her head.

'That's exactly what I said,' I held my hand out to her for a high five, which she returned with a small smile on her face. I had asked her for a high five the other day and she looked at me like I had spoken pig Latin; she told me she didn't know what a 'high five' was and I wasted no time in teaching her.

'Well when I'm sleep deprived I'm slightly irrational.' Klaus said as if that were a reasonable explanation, Bekah and I shared a look and rolled our eyes.

'I'll accept that as your apology,' I said, patting one of the hands he still had wrapped around my waist, 'anyway I should be going. I wouldn't be surprised if Elena thinks I've been kidnapped.'

Klaus didn't let me go, in fact he pulled me slightly tighter, I frowned and looked over to him, confused. Bekah answered before Klaus could though.

'Elena was absolutely trashed last night when Damon picked her up, I wouldn't be surprised if she's still fast asleep.' Bekah smirked.

'You were with them last night? At the cemetery party?' I asked.

'Yes, Elena invited me. It was actually a lot of fun, M-,' She cut off when she realized that Klaus was in the room. I could feel her apprehension at mentioning a boy's name in front of Klaus and with good reason; she had told me how protective he got and how he reacted towards those who showed an interest in his sister.

'Tell me later,' I winked at her.

'No, little sister, don't go quiet on my account.' Klaus said, and I didn't have to look up to know he had a dangerous smile on his face.

Rebekah looked annoyed and I mirrored her expression as I rolled my eyes.

'Leave the girl alone, Nik. She deserves a crush.' I muttered, giving Bekah a look as I pointed at Klaus' hands on my waist, indicating that I wanted her help. She just stared at me, shocked, making me frown; what had I done?

'She deserves the best, love.' Klaus countered, sounding slightly surprised himself but also… pleased. What the hell?

'She deserves whatever _she_ chooses she deserves. It's her love life, her choice.' I said, getting slightly irritated now, at both his arrogance and the fact that I couldn't get out of his grip, 'can you let me go, please. I really need to get home.'

He sighed, squeezing me tighter for a moment before he reluctantly let me go. I stood, hating how cold my body now felt without him. I turned, giving him a smile as I leaned forward and kissed his cheek in thanks, he smiled back, his genuine smile making my heart skip a beat before I grabbed Bekah's wrist and pulled her out of the room with me.

Once we were out of the room and in the hallway, however, Rebekah flipped the tables and started to drag _me_ further down the hall, I assumed to her room. It was confirmed when I saw the pinks and purples scattered throughout the interior of the room; her headboard of her bed was covered in fairy lights on her canopy bed; she had about twenty cushions, all different shades of pink and purple scattered on her _giant_ bed.

'Thank you for that, Kimmie.' Bekah said, her voice soft as she started to root in a giant chest of draws on the wall opposite her bed, 'he's protective, most of the time it's nice but sometimes he just goes too far.'

'I've noticed.' I muttered, 'don't worry about it, girl power and all that,' I winked, smiling genuinely at the grateful look on her face. She seemed to have found what she was looking for and she quickly pulled out something black and something white and threw them in my direction. I caught them _barely_ and grinned when I realised that she had thrown me a white vest top and some high waisted black shorts.

'Aw, Bekah. I love you.' I said, throwing my hands around her neck as I hugged her, genuinely touched and grateful that she had been so thoughtful. We weren't the same size and these clothes were _my_ size, meaning that she'd purposely gone out of her way to make sure I had something to wear at her house. Best friend goals or what?

She hugged me back tightly, 'love you too, Kimmie.' She whispered, 'you're like the sister I've always wanted.' She admitted and I felt my heart expand, warmed by her words.

'You're like a sister to me too, Bekah.' I told her, genuinely meaning it, she seemed to sense this as she hugged me tighter for a moment before she let me go, smiling brightly.

'Right, well you go and shower and get dressed; we are having a girls day.' Bekah said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

I grinned and nodded, 'sounds wonderful. I just need to call my sister first to check in though.'

'Fair enough. I'll give you some privacy.' Bekah said, walking out of the room and closing the door softly behind her.

I went to pull out my phone from my sports bra, only to realise that it wasn't there, which made me frown; that's where I usually kept it unless… it was still in Klaus' room. Without another thought, I opened the door about to walk down the corridor to knock on Klaus' door, only to see him already stood there, fully dressed, a smirk on his face. Of course, he would have heard me say that I was going to check in with my sister. Sure enough he held up my phone as an explanation of why he was here. I went to grab it but he lifted it out of my reach; I raised my brow in warning but he just grinned.

'What are you-,' my question was cut off when his lips gently met mine. I gasped at the pleasurable shock that echoed throughout my body when his lips moved against mine. This gave him an opening and he happily took advantage of it; his tongue expertly moving to invade the gap my mouth had provided. Our tongues fought for dominance and I couldn't stop the moan that escaped me when he won. I reached up, my hands tangling in his hair as if I needed to make sure that his lips would stay against mine; he had one hand in my hair as if he had the same motivation. His other hand moved to grab my ass, squeezing slightly, making me moan once more. I felt him smirk against my lips before his lips continued to move against mine again. His hand moved from my hair to join the other hand on my ass, he was about to lift me and my body hummed in anticipation, waiting to wrap my legs around his waist. But before he could, a throat clearing interrupted us; I reluctantly pulled away from his mouth, resting my forehead against his as we both regained our breath. I looked into his eyes and I could see the same hunger that was undoubtedly reflected in mine. I looked over to my left when I heard the click of a camera, and sure enough, Bekah was stood there with her camera pointed at us, a smirk on her lips. Klaus handed me my phone before he made his way towards his sister, he tried to take her phone but she flashed away, moving behind me and basically using me as a shield.

'Oh come on, don't put the human in the middle of a supernatural fight,' I muttered.

Klaus smirked at me before he went to move me from in front of Rebekah, but before he could Bekah flashed us both into her room before she locked the door, making me snort.

'Oh yeah, he definitely can't get in now you've _locked_ the door. I mean the fact that he is an Original hybrid doesn't matter when it comes to a locked door,' My voice dripped with sarcasm; I could hear Klaus laughing from the other side of the door, and even Bekah looked slightly amused.

'No, but Nik, Kim is naked!' Bekah shouted from behind me.

I snorted and was about to retort but Nik cut me off before I could, 'you are forgetting I've already seen her naked, Bekah. All that does is make me want to come in more.' I could tell that he was smirking, and I couldn't help but smile as I shook my head.

'Has he really?' Bekah asked, not believing her brother, she sighed in defeat when I nodded in answer, but then her face lit up with an idea and she grinned devilishly, 'okay then, but you don't want to see your little sister naked do you?'

'What you're not-,' I cut off when she started to strip and I turned away facing the wall, 'let me know when your decent will you?' I muttered, slightly uncomfortable.

'You're bluffing.' Klaus said, sounding unsure.

'Trust me, Nik, she isn't.' I muttered, covering my hands with my eyes for good measure.

'Fine, but I will get those pictures, Bekah.' Klaus said warningly, though his voice had a soft edge to it, why, I had no idea but before I could question it Bekah's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

'I'm decent.' She murmured, amused and slightly victorious that she had won. I turned in her direction, peeking through my fingers, making sure she was actually dressed before I removed them.

'Nicely done, sister,' I winked at her, giving her a high five before we both laughed, 'can I see it?' I asked, curiously. She pulled out her phone, but didn't turn it to show me the picture instead I felt my own phone beep and saw that she had sent the picture to me. I opened it and almost gasped at how much sexual tension was in the picture, but also… affection. It was clear by Klaus' hands on my ass and mine in his hair as well in as the hunger in both of our gazes that we were attracted to each other. But there was something else in the way we were looking at each other, it was as if we were sharing a look of adoration for each other and I couldn't help but wonder if we shared that look often. I saved the picture to my phone and decided to send it to Klaus followed by a message.

 _Me: Though Bekah's tendency to take pictures without us knowing is somewhat inconvenient; you have to admit this picture is rather… captivating._

'You know, you'd make a good photographer,' I told her honestly; she had a good eye for a perfect picture, there had been many times when we had been out when she had made me stop so that she could take a picture of something that had captured her attention, and the images always turned out great and looked professional, despite the fact that she was only taking them on her phone.

'Thank you.' She smiled brightly, moving to sit on her bed, I'm assuming because she didn't want to run into her brother.

I pulled up my favourites list and dialled Elena's number, happy when she picked up on the third ring.

'Kim, are you all right? Where are you?' She asked, sounding panicked.

'I'm fine, I'm at Klaus'. After Stefan's little stunt last night I didn't want to be alone.' I admitted.

'I can't blame you. If he had done that to me I… I don't know what I would have done.' She sounded lost for words.

'I'd rather me than you,' I told her honestly, 'anyway, I was just calling to let you know I'm hanging out with Bekah all day.'

'Okay, that'll be good for you.' She said, but her tone hinted that she was keeping something from me.

'What's going on?' I asked, worried.

'It's nothing, honestly. You have a fun day, let me know if you'll be coming home later, if not I'll call you.' She hung up the phone before I could get another word in.

I pulled my phone from my ear and frowned at it for a moment, wondering what the hell she was keeping from me. I knew she meant well, and she just wanted me to have today to myself, most likely because of what happened yesterday, and when I didn't feel that she was in any immediate danger I shrugged and decided to go along with it. I couldn't remember the last time I had a nice girly day with no supernatural interruptions, so I tossed my phone onto the bed and made my way to the shower, sighing happily as the warm water cascaded over my head and body. I washed my hair, taking my time; I found washing my hair rather therapeutic. After I was done I quickly washed my body, shaved my underarms and legs, and turned off the water, stepping out. I dried myself off and dressed in the clothes that Bekah had provided; I was going to leave my hair down to dry but I could only imagine Bekah's horror if I did that so, with a sigh I picked up the hair dryer and dried my hair until it fell in it's natural loose curls down to my waist. Finally finished, I stepped out of the bathroom and sat next to Bekah on the bed as I picked up my phone, noticing I had a text message.

 _Klaus: I can't disagree with that, love._

I smiled when I read the words, and I felt Bekah looking at me curiously, I met her gaze and shrugged innocently, locking my phone and putting it in my back pocket.

'So, what are we doing today?' I asked, lying back against her cushions, sighing softly at how soft they were.

'Whatever you want.' Bekah said, smiling.

'Hmmm…' I trailed off thinking, but I shot up, grinning when an idea came to mind, 'we should have a movie day!'

'A what?' Rebekah inquired, confused.

'A movie day, we should close the curtains, but pyjama's on get _loads_ of junk food and watch movie after movie. It'll be fun.' I said, already running around to get the room ready; I closed the drapes and threw some pyjamas in Rebekah's direction before pulling out a pair myself and getting quickly changed in the bathroom, Bekah laughing at my excitement as I made my way past her. When I came out of the bathroom I saw that Bekah had an abundance of junk food on her bed and she had the T.V all set up. I eagerly got into the bed beside her, grabbing and opening one of the bags of popcorn. After a while she handed me the remote, not knowing what movie to go with seeing as she had been daggered when most of them had come out. I took it happily, scrolling through them all before I settled on one of my favourites; 10 Things I Hate About You. Julia Stiles was so beautiful and don't even get me _started_ on Heath Ledger. Rebekah seemed to enjoy it, laughing in amusement when Verona set up the school band so that he could sing and dance to make up for rejecting Kat. By the end of the film, she loved it just as much as I did.

'That was great! So romantic.' She gushed.

'Right? I love this film _so_ much, I mean they're so cute together.' I commented.

'Definitely. That's the kind of love I want. Someone who loves me enough to embarrass himself in front of a room full of people just to apologize.'

'Then that is the love you shall find,' I promised her as I scrolled through the list for another movie. I decided on Dirty Dancing, because come on, that was a _classic_ , and Rebekah needed to see it. The rest of the afternoon consisted of us watching movie after movie and what seemed like only _minutes_ later, it was 9:30 in the evening. Seeing as I was already in my pyjamas I decided that I may as well stay the night and have the full slumber party experience, though I didn't have Nik's shirt with me so I probably wouldn't get any sleep… I pulled out my phone and texted Elena to let her know what the plan was.

 _Me: I'm gonna stay with Bekah tonight. Will be home tomorrow though._

 _Elena: Ok. Probably better you stay away from the drama anyway._

 _Me: ?_

 _Elena: Klaus compelled Bonnie's Mom to get the location of the coffins. We had time to get the spelled one out before he came to get the other three. Bonnie thinks whatever is in the spelled one is the key to killing Klaus._

 _Me: You knew where the coffins are and you didn't tell me? You have been planning to KILL Klaus and you didn't tell me?_

 _Elena: I didn't find out until this morning when Bonnie told me; she wanted me to help her to find her Mom because she figured that she was the key to getting the coffin open._

 _Me: Well keeping it from him isn't a good idea, Elena._

 _Elena: I know that but Stefan is hell bent on destroying Klaus and Damon is, well, Damon._

 _Me: Do you know where they've taken it?_

 _Elena: No, Damon and Stefan don't trust me not to tell you, and they know you'll tell Klaus._

 _Me: Of course I'd tell Klaus this whole thing is ridiculous!_

 _Elena: I'm with you on that one, sis._

 _Me: I'm gonna go to sleep, anyway. Night Lena, love you xxx_

 _Elena: Night, love you too Kimmie xxx_

I shook my head in annoyance; I understood that Stefan was pissed at Klaus and he wanted revenge, but seeking it against the most powerful being in the world wasn't really the brightest idea he had ever had. In fact it was plain idiotic, I looked over to Rebekah, wanting to vent to someone, but she was fast asleep with a bag of popcorn on her stomach, dangerously close to falling out all over the bed. I gently pried the bag from her hands and put it with the rest at the very bottom of the bed; the bed was so long we shouldn't be in any danger of kicking it off in the night. I turned off the T.V. having had enough of watching it, and I was about to scroll through Facebook for something to do seeing as I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, when I heard a loud bang coming from the floor blow. I frowned and looked over to Rebekah, only to see she was still sleeping, I rolled my eyes in amusement; if I had heard it then the one with supernatural hearing would have been able to as well, but apparently it wasn't loud enough to wake her from her slumber. I shrugged off the covers and made my way down stairs, I heard another bang and made my way towards it, I knew one of the people was Klaus, but the other was a mystery. I found myself in a small room; my eyes immediately going to the open and _empty_ coffin sitting in front of the burning fire. I noticed the broken dining table and the broken picture frame on the floor, as if someone had been thrown at the wall.

'Well… this could be bad.' I muttered to myself, looking around for any sense that someone was near. I felt Klaus' amusement and I knew that he had heard me; I felt someone else's humour as well but I couldn't make out whom it was.

'Miss Gilbert, how lovely to see you again,' my head whipped around in the direction that the voice came from; which was right behind me. Although I knew that politeness anywhere, and there was only one person who called me _Miss Gilbert._

'Elijah!' I gave him a warm smile and a quick hug; I felt his momentary surprise before he returned it. I pulled back, putting an acceptable amount of distance between us before he spoke again.

'I must say, I am rather surprised to see you here, Kimberly.' Elijah's voice was as polite and controlled as ever.

'You know what, Elijah you have missed so much! Come on, I'm gonna make us both some hot chocolate and I'll fill you in on _everything_.' I said, making my way to the door before I stopped and frowned, I turned back to Elijah with a sheepish smile on my face, 'I have no idea where the kitchen is.'

'Well, me neither. I'm sure we'll find it.' Elijah said, walking in front of me confidently.

'Well, it would have been nice of your brother to actually show you around,' I said, knowing he was listening to the conversation.

'You're right, love.' Klaus popped up behind me, I sensed he was there so I didn't have much of a reaction other than rolling my eyes at his attempt to scare me.

'Nice try, Nik.' I shook my head with an amused smile on my face, which grew slightly when I heard him chuckle.

I felt Elijah's surprise but I didn't pay any attention to it; the last time he had seen us in a room together Nik had stabbed me, albeit it was an accident but _still._

'The kitchen is the second door on the left,' Nik said to Elijah as he opened a door that led to a hallway, Elijah followed his instructions without a word, and I could feel his irritation with his younger sibling.

'Oooo you really aren't his favourite person right now,' I teased, laughing when Nik frowned at me.

We made our way into the kitchen and I started rooting through the cupboards for some hot chocolate mixture; I did ask Nik where it was but he said he had no idea, he didn't do the shopping and he had staff to cook for him. I eventually found it, in the last cupboard I looked into, typical I know. I grabbed three mugs from the mug tree by the kettle, pleased that they were a decent size. I grabbed the milk, filling all three mugs up half way, then I added the instant hot chocolate mixture, along with three tea spoons of sugar; I placed the mugs in the microwave for two minutes, pulled them out filled it the rest of the way and put them back in for another minute.

'Seems complicated,' Klaus smirked from the breakfast bar as he watched me.

'Trust me, it's worth it,' I replied, pulling the mugs out when the microwave beeped. I stirred them all and passed Klaus and Elijah a mug before I got my own. I sat down across from them both, which could have been a little intimidating if I wasn't already comfortable around the family.

'So, lets start from where Niklaus pierced my heart with the dagger shall we?' Elijah asked, his tone causal but the underlying distaste for the brother sat next to him was evident.

'Well… after Nik stabbed you he kidnapped me and Stefan for four months to hunt werewolves because he wanted to create more hybrids, but then he couldn't turn any so we went to Chicago to try and get a solution from this sketchy witch, Gloria. She said she needed a way to contact the Original witch, so Nik woke Bekah and turns out she lost the necklace so Nik had a tantrum, you know how he is. Then Stefan kept asking questions about why they were running when he knew them in the twenties, Bekah said he couldn't be trusted so Nik snapped his neck, we came back to Mystic Falls, Nik found out Elena was still alive and had _another_ tantrum, he found out her blood was the key to making his hybrids so then he tried to kill her, and knocked me out in the process. Damon saved her after he name-dropped Mikael, Nik left for a while; making hybrids with the few litres of blood he took from Elena. Katherine woke Mikael after I said it was a stupid idea, Mikael had us all lure Nik back to Mystic falls by threatening to kill us all, we did and then Mikael tried to kill me to make Nik suffer but then Nik killed him. Nik had another tantrum when he found out I knew about the Mikael plan but he calmed down when I told him that I knew he wouldn't die… He was also pissed that Bekah had a part in it but he cooled off when he found out that Elena had told her about him killing your mother. Stefan stole the coffins that had all of you in it as revenge for Nik compelling Stefan to obey him. He's being using them as a bargaining chip and nearly ran me off Wickery Bridge to get Nik to give in, which I am still pissed at him for… and they still have the spelled shut coffin which they think is the key to killing Nik.' I finished, pretty confident that I had covered everything, I looked between Nik and Elijah's expressions; Nik was amused that I had managed to reiterate so much information in less than five minutes while Elijah was just trying to take all of it in.

'You left out a few things there, love.' Nik eventually said.

'What's that?' I asked, taking a drink of my hot chocolate, closing my eyes to savour the taste.

'What Gloria told us about what you are,' he said his brow rose as he wondered why I had skipped over that.

'I'm not important;' I waved my hand dismissively, 'that's not relevant to the main events that have been happening.'

'Please, Kimberly, I would like all the details,' Elijah insisted.

'Well she said that I'm a hybrid,' I continued when I felt Elijah's confusion, 'part Prophet and part Empath.'

'Well that is fascinating, such an interesting combination.' He said, his index finger stroking his chin as he studied me.

'Not really.' I muttered, uncomfortable with the attention.

'She also told us something else,' Nik started, drawing Elijah's attention away from me, which I was grateful for, 'she told us that we are mates.'

Elijah's eyebrows rose, but otherwise didn't give any other indication that he was surprised, but I knew he was. I could feel his surprise as well as his shock and amazement.

'Yeah and then Mikael was spouting about it when he kept stabbing me. Apparently a witch confirmed it for him as well.' I said, finishing my hot chocolate and walking to put the mug in the sink.

'That's very rare. Did father say anything else?' Elijah asked Nik.

'He said he was going to kill her because if I turned her then she would share my power; she would have the power of an Original, as well as the ones she currently possesses.' Nik said, looking at me curiously.

'For all we know it's complete bullshit.' I shrugged, laughing when Elijah looked taken aback by my language.

'There is a way we can test it.' Nik said and I felt a ball of anxiety in my gut form at his words.

'No, whatever it is, no.' I held out my hand as if that would keep him away from me, he just chuckled and shook his head at my reaction.

'He said we feel one another's pain. When Stefan kidnapped you, I _knew_ before I got that call; I felt like my head had been smashed against a wall. And when Mikael stabbed you in the back that night, though the rest I didn't feel because you were taking my pain as well as your own,' Nik looked to me disapprovingly.

'Hey, Mikael was being an arrogant arsehole and I wasn't going to give him anymore ammunition to use.' I muttered before I continued, 'so what are you saying? You want to test it even though you know it already works?'

'I want to test it once more to know it _definitely_ works. If it does then we need to look into everything we have been told to determine its validity.' Nik replied, grabbing a knife from the knife rack.

'Okay but only like a little cut on the hand, please. Nothing drastic, Klaus I mean it!' I said when the ball of dread in my gut grew. He handed the knife to Elijah and indicated for him to stab him in the gut. Elijah looked eager to stab Nik but he hesitated and looked over to me when he realised he might be hurting me as well; I sent him a wave of reassurance and nodded for good measure. That was all of the encouragement he needed as he moved the knife into Klaus' abdomen. I felt the knife in my stomach as if he had stabbed _me_ , when he yanked it out of Nik's stomach I felt my teeth grind together as I tried not to scream in pain. My knuckles were white from how hard I was gripping the counter, I looked over to Klaus and noticed that his wound had healed, but _I_ was still in pain. I frowned and looked down to my abdomen, lifting up my shirt to reveal the toned olive skin only to see that I had a stab mark on my own body where Klaus' had been on his.

'Well… that's inconvenient.' I muttered, I started to cough and when I moved the hand I had covered my mouth with, there was blood.

'Here, love, drink,' Klaus murmured softly, his warm breath tickling my ear as he suddenly appeared behind me. I took his wrist without hesitation, biting back a moan at how good his blood tasted as I drank until my stomach didn't feel torn open anymore.

'Let's _not_ do that again, okay?' I muttered, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

Klaus laughed lightly, clearly relieved but when I felt Elijah's concern from across from me I met his eyes questioningly.

'Your bond is the strongest I have ever seen. Usually when one's mate is in danger you _feel_ the pain, but not as badly as your mate would be feeling it, and you definitely wouldn't have the same wound.' Elijah explained.

'Is that a good thing or a bad thing?' I asked, concerned Klaus took the seat next to me and placed his hand on my thigh comfortingly.

'I'd imagine it can be both; especially when you're both immortal. But with you still being human I am sure you can see the dangers that can arise.'

'Especially with how many people he pisses off,' I said, my tone was teasing but I was deadly serious; as we spoke Damon and Stefan were trying to open a coffin that they hoped held the key to kill Klaus.

Klaus glared at me, but Elijah smiled softly; his only tell that he was amused.

'So if one of us dies the other dies?' I questioned then continued before either could comment, 'nah, that won't work because he can't be killed. I don't get it though, I was knocked out the other day and he wasn't.'

'Perhaps you actually suffer the same wounds because you are part Empath?' Elijah suggested.

'Well… there's only one way to find out,' I said, picking up the knife that was still stained with Klaus' blood. I grabbed Klaus right arm and rolled up the sleeve, then I took the knife to my own right arm and dragged the blade down wards, holding back my cry of pain as the blade pierced my skin. I looked over to Klaus' arm and saw a trail of blood down his own arm. He added a bite mark and allowed me to drink from him to heal the new wound on my arm.

'Now what?' I asked.

'We'll figure it out, love. Once I have the final coffin that will become my primary focus.' Klaus promised, his hand moving up and down on my leg as he assured me.

'Until we know more, I suggest we keep this between us. The fewer that know, the better, we don't want this being used as a weakness against either of you.' Elijah said, his tone ringing with caution.

'Stefan knows, that's why he took me. I don't think he heard anything more than what happens if one of us have to live without the other but if he gets desperate enough to look into it…' I trailed off, not particularly worried because I didn't think he would give it a second thought after the stunt he pulled yesterday, but I figured they should know.

'We'll deal with that if it becomes a problem.' Elijah promised, his voice sounding deadly.

'If by deal with it you mean compel him to forget then I am totally for that plan.' I winked.

Klaus chuckled at me while Elijah's lips twitched in amusement.

'If you don't mind I'm going to retire, coming back to life really takes it out of you,' Elijah said, his tone somewhat condescending for Klaus' benefit.

'That was definitely directed at you, encase you didn't know,' I said to Klaus, grinning when I felt Elijah's amusement, and laughing when Klaus rolled his eyes at me.

'Anyway… I should probably get to bed too,' I muttered as I stood up, I rested my hand on Klaus' shoulder and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. My lips lingered on his skin for a moment; I had to force myself to pull away, 'goodnight.' I whispered before I made my way to the door and upstairs, my lips still tingling, demanding _more._

I reached Bekah's room but I hesitated as I reached for the door handle. I felt Klaus join me in the hallway a moment later and my gaze snapped up to meet his. My whole body felt like it was vibrating with want, and I knew he felt it too; I could see the hunger and lust in his eyes. We both walked towards each other at the same time, meeting half way; my hands immediately went to his hair and bought his lips hungrily to mine, while his hands went to my ass and lifted me up swiftly; I wasted no time in wrapping my legs around his waist, moaning at the friction created from his hips moving against mine. I felt my back meeting a door before Klaus opened it, swiftly walking us inside before he kicked the door shut, his lips never straying from mine. A moment later my back was on his bed and his lips moved from mine as he made his way down to my neck, never breaking contact with my skin. I moaned softly as he sucked and nipped as he went, his human teeth bit into the crook of my neck and my back arched from the pleasure of it; I felt him smirk against my skin before he continued nipping and sucking, one of his hands went up my shirt, his palm flattening against my stomach.

I reached down, gabbing at the bottom of his shirt, managing to tug it half way up his body before he pulled back slightly and removed it completely. He ripped the pyjama top I was wearing, apparently too impatient to just lift it over my head. He growled in approval when he saw that I wasn't wearing a bra underneath; his mouth went to my right breast, taking my nipple into his mouth as he sucked tenderly, his teeth grazing me softly as his tongue moved over my nipple tauntingly, causing me to moan deep in my throat. One of my hands curled in his hair while the other rested on his back. Klaus placed a kiss to my breast, before his mouth moved down over my abdomen, kissing my skin as he went; my hips started to sway in anticipation. He yanked the pyjama shorts I was wearing down and tossed them carelessly behind him. His eyes looked up to meet mine for a moment; his gaze ravenous before his mouth suddenly went to where I needed him the most. My hips buckled from the abrupt jolt of pleasure and I cried out at the same time; Klaus brought one of his hands to my hips to prevent me from moving any further as he worked his incredible lips and tongue over my clit. His mouth moved expertly and thoroughly, so it wasn't long before he brought me to the edge; he nipped me softly with his teeth and that was all it took for the orgasm to take over my body with a shudder.

I reached down pulling him to me and bringing my lips to his, moaning when he dominated the kiss. I felt him enter me slowly and we both took a moment to appreciate how amazing the other felt; it had been so _long_ since we had been intimate in this way. Not long after my hips moved up to meet his, providing him with all of the encouragement he needed. His mouth went to my jaw, kissing me back and forth as he moved in and out of me swiftly; my hands went to his back, my nails digging into the skin hard enough to draw blood; I ignored the stinging on my own back as I felt myself clench around him at his approving growl. His hips met mine faster, rougher, and I knew that it wouldn't be long before we both reached our climax; I moved my head to the side, inviting him to bite into my neck, which he did without hesitation. I moaned as I became overcome with pleasure, when I noticed a bite mark appear on the same place on his neck where he was biting me on mine I leaned forward and drank him in without reluctance. I felt my body reach it's peak and I carried on drinking Klaus' blood, while he carried on drinking mine, as we fell over the edge together. After a moment we both pulled away; he rested his forehead against mine and gazed at me with a soft look on his face. I leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on his lips; enjoying the taste of his blood mixed with mine. He gently pulled out of me before lying on his back, hauling me against his chest, kissing my hair. I wrapped my arm around his waist as my legs tangled with his, my head nuzzling into him. He started to play with my hair, the relaxing feeling of it lulling me to sleep before I could have another conscious thought.

 **There's chapter eighteen! I know this one strays** _ **very**_ **far away from the original episode but I wanted the chance to let her bond more with Rebekah and Klaus, plus I just didn't see me fitting her in very well with everything else. I figure she wouldn't want to help open the coffin that may potentially hold the one thing that can kill Klaus, and I don't want her to betray Klaus either, so I decided that keeping her in the dark about that would be the best thing. Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to kleekeaton for giving my story a favourite and a follow- it means a lot! :)**

 _ **Guest: So good! Please update again! I love this story!**_ **Here's the update; I hope you like it and thank you so much :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: AWWW! They're so sweet! Great job! :)**_ **Thank you, I thought it was important to show that they weren't just sexually attracted to one another and that they could just be there for each other when they're needed. I'm glad you liked it :)**


	19. Bringing Out The Dead

Chapter Nineteen

'Come on, keep up!' Elena teased, running ahead of me; she was trying to make me chase after her but in all honesty I was perfectly fine with her being in front. I had woken up at ten this morning when Klaus had gotten up, and deciding that I needed to see my sister I had showered after Klaus and gotten dressed in the clothes Bekah had lent me yesterday before we'd changed into pyjamas for the movie day. Once I was finished I had met Klaus down stairs and kissed him, a brief peck in goodbye, but that hadn't been enough and he had pulled me back; he kissed me in a way that left us both breathless and wanting more. Thankfully, Rebekah started shouting him for upstairs; otherwise we knew exactly what that would have led to. As soon as I had hugged Bekah goodbye I made my way home, and the first thing my dear sister did was force me out on a run with her. Joy.

'Listen, I'm going as fast as I can, Lena!' I groaned, glaring at her when she laughed.

'I thought you'd be in a better mood this morning with the hybrid sex you had last night,' Elena teased, running backwards as she winked at me.

'What- how did you-' I cut off when she started laughing, a reluctant smile pulling up the corners of my lips as I realised I had fallen for the oldest trick in the book.

'Well, I figured you and Klaus couldn't resist each other under the same roof, and it looks like I was right,' she winked again and I ran a little faster to gently shove her shoulder, making us both laugh.

'You were definitely right,' I muttered.

'So I'll take it he's _good?_ ' Elena asked, her brows rising suggestively.

'Incredible,' I admitted, looking around to make sure no one could hear us, Elena found my paranoia hilarious.

'Well, I suppose he does have a thousand years of experience,' Elena replied.

'Don't I know it' I mumbled, too low for her to hear, as I did, I couldn't help but flash back to this morning; we hadn't _immediately_ gotten out of bed.

' _Morning, love,' Klaus said, his voice husky from having just awoken._

 _I leaned up, placing a kiss on the pulse point on his neck before I pulled away, 'good morning.' I mumbled, knowing he would be able to hear me. I rested my head in the crook of his neck, inhaling, he smelled as incredible as he always did. One of his hands rested around my waist while the other absentmindedly traced patterns on my bare shoulder. I had never felt more relaxed than I did in that moment, but I realised with a sigh that I had to go home at some point._

' _We should probably-' I was cut off when Klaus suddenly flipped us, so that I was lying underneath him, his whole body pressed against the top of mine, 'or not,' I chuckled._

 _He smiled softly before he leaned down, his lips about to connect with mine when he moved at the last second and kissed my cheek. I slapped his shoulder, which made him chuckle playfully. He went to kiss my lips again only to move at the last second again and kiss my other cheek. I huffed in annoyance; my lips were tingling in anticipation, desperate to feel his mouth on mine. I looked up to him and saw the playfulness glittering in his eyes, and despite my exasperation I couldn't help but smile softly; I had never seen this side of him before and I liked that he was comfortable enough to act this way around me._

 _I pouted playfully, 'it's not nice to tease, you know.'_

' _Is that so, love?' He said, smiling and leaning forward so that his lips were a hairs width away from mine._

' _Mmm hmm.' I hummed, too distracted by his proximity. I lifted my head slightly and connected our lips. Klaus released a pleasurable groan as one of his hands went to the back of my head, as if he was worried I'd move away, while the other went to my waist, pulling my hips flush against his. I moaned when I felt how much he wanted me. I bit his lip, silently asking him to deepen the kiss; with a growl of approval he did, lining himself up against my entrance as he did so. When he dominated the kiss, he entered me in the same moment, making a deep moan erupt in my throat. He moved in and out of me slowly, his pace the most pleasurable torture I was sure I would ever endure. I dug my heels into his ass, silently asking him to go faster, but he didn't. His lips moved away from mine, going to my neck where he sunk his human teeth into the same spot he had bitten me last night, making me moan. I realised that all of the other times we had been intimate in this way it had consisted of uncontrollable hunger, but this time was different. The gentleness was making my whole body tingle as if he was touching nerve ending in my body… and I knew he was showing me how he felt about me through his actions. It was as if… he was making love to me; the thought of that made my heart beat pick up even more. We both reached our climax at the same time, gazing into each other's eyes as the pleasure consumed us. He rested his forehead against mine and placed a tender kiss on my lips, which I returned, before he pulled back and gazed at me with a soft expression on his face. I caressed the side of his face, liking the way he leaned into my touch, before I placed a soft kiss on his lips. Eventually he pulled out of me and offered me the shower first but I declined and told him he could go first. As soon as he closed the door I lay there with a huge smile on my face as I stared at the ceiling, feeling happier than I ever had._

'Kim? Hello?' Elena's shouting voice snapped me out of my thoughts, just in time too as I moved to the side to avoid running into a man walking his dog.

'Yeah?' I asked, looking over to her when I felt her concern.

'Where were you just then?' She continued with a knowing look on her face when she saw the grin I was still wearing, 'ahh daydreaming, were we?'

I just shrugged, not giving anything away, telling others about this morning, even my sister, felt wrong. That was a moment just for us, no one else.

'Yeah, yeah,' she laughed, but her expression softened when she noticed that the grin didn't fall from my face, 'it's good to see you so happy, Kimmie.'

'Thank you.' I said, squeezing her arm affectionately as we made our way back to the house.

I immediately went up stairs to shower while Elena went to get some water. When she realised what I had done she wouldn't be happy; which was confirmed when she shouted up the stairs to me and called me a cheat. I just laughed before stepping under the warm spray. I wasn't too long in the shower, even though I washed my hair; I heard the doorbell ring and I had the sudden urge to get out of the shower as fast as I could. Once I was finished I dressed, pulling on a black vest top and black high waisted shorts before I rushed downstairs. I found Elena and Ric in the kitchen; I could feel that they were both concerned and I noticed that Ric had some weapons laid out on the table.

'What's going on?' I asked.

'Your baby sis is the number one suspect in a murder.' Damon's voice said, confusing me until I saw the phone on the table.

'What murder?' I murmured.

'Brian Walters,' Elena said, giving me a look; she had told me about the man who had been staked like a vampire on the night of the founders party, 'the Sheriff found my finger prints on the weapon used to kill him; the stake is from the set that Mom and Dad kept at the lake house.'

'Well… did you do it?' I teased, trying to lighten the mood a little. Damon laughed and Ric smiled softly but Elena just rolled her eyes.

'She doesn't think that I did it. She just wants to find out why someone used our family's weapons to kill a council member.' Elena said, sounding concerned; I sent her a wave of reassurance, happy when she calmed a little.

'Well, why don't you ask Ric if his dirty little doctor had access to the weapons?' Damon said, his tone mocking.

'You're on speakerphone, dick.' Ric muttered as if Damon didn't already know that. I felt bad for Ric; he was actually moving on from Jenna and the first girl he showed an interest in was looking more psychotic by the second.

'I'm just saying the first suspect is usually the right one. Don't get so defensive.' Damon replied.

'Brian Walters was killed days ago, right? I didn't show Meredith this stuff until last night!' Ric said, getting more and more agitated, I took his anxiety and sent him a wave of calm as a replacement.

'It wasn't Meredith.' I said, my voice sounding sure.

'But he was her ex boyfriend and Ric saw them fighting that night.' Damon argued.

'Well I'm telling you it wasn't her,' I responded, completely sure; if it was her I would know.

'Who else knows about your secret little slayer stash?' Damon said, changing the subject.

'Who doesn't? I have weapons stashed everywhere, the loft, here, the school and your car.' Ric answered.

'It's Klaus. It has to be, he's screwing with us.' Damon muttered.

'It's not Klaus. He was saving me from Stefan's psychotic break that night, remember?' I defended, rolling my eyes at his suggestion.

'What if it was Stefan? He was crazy that night, he would have done anything.' Elena proposed.

'He was crazy trying to get Klaus to break. He wouldn't have attacked a human because Klaus wouldn't have cared, and if he did I'm sure it wouldn't have been with a steak in his heart.' I said, shaking my head as I considered Stefan briefly before I dismissed the idea.

'She's right. Anyway I gotta go, you'll know more later.' Damon replied, sounding distracted.

'Hey, where are you?' Elena asked.

'Tea with an old friend,' his tone told me that he was smirking at his own joke.

I frowned at the phone right before it went dead, wondering what the hell he was up to, whatever it was I didn't like it. Meaning that it probably had something to do with Klaus; did that mean he was with Bonnie trying to get the coffin open? I didn't have much time left to ponder it as Ric snapped me out of my thoughts.

'Hey, are you okay?' He asked, sounding genuinely worried.

'Yep, never better,' I said, walking to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. I looked over to him when I felt his disbelief and raised my brow in question. I noticed Elena was gone and figured she'd gone to take a shower now that the bathroom was once again free.

'You've been M.I.A since the founders party.' He said, answering my raised eyebrow look, but I knew there was more, more that he _wasn't_ saying.

'And you think I've been held at Klaus' mansion against my will?' I guessed continuing when he looked a little guilty, 'after what Stefan did, I didn't want to be alone, so I asked Klaus if I could stay with him for the night. The next day Bekah said we were having a girls day and honestly I couldn't remember the last time I did something so _normal_ so I accepted. I was there of my own free will, Ric. I get that you might not understand my relationship with the family, and I'm not asking you to, all I ask is that you respect it.'

Ric stared at me for a long moment and I felt the admiration coming off him as he considered my words, 'of course.' He eventually answered. I smiled at him in thanks and started to prepare something for lunch, figuring we all needed it. I decided to make each of us an omelette; Elena had broccoli and cheese, while Ric and I had cheese and ham. I had just laid Elena's down on a plate when she walked back into the room, fresh from her shower.

'Is that an omelette?' She said, her voice bright as she eyed the plate.

I laughed at her eagerness, passing her the plate along with her cutlery, 'you bet your ass it is,' I replied with a wink.

She practically skipped to the table, eating her lunch before I could even sit down with my own.

'Hungry?' My voice was amused as I cut into my food.

'That and I'm meeting Care at the hospital; she's picking up her dad.'

'Oh that's good; if he's being discharged that means he's okay, right?' I asked, already knowing the answer.

'Yup. Meredith healed him with vampire blood; you can only imagine how pleased he probably is about that.' Elena said as she put her now empty plate into the dishwasher before she made her way to the front door.

I snorted but otherwise didn't respond. She left soon after and Ric followed her, saying something about going to his loft to grade papers. I decided to give Bekah a call and see if she was free to do anything, despite the fact that I had spent the whole day yesterday with her- she couldn't be sick of me yet, right? She picked up on the third ring and I could hear the excitement in her voice.

'Kim! I was _just_ going to call you! Guess what!' She squealed, and I found myself grinning, her happiness contagious.

'They're having a sale at the mall?' I guessed.

She laughed, 'good guess, but no. Matt asked me out on a date.'

'Really? Bekah, I'm so happy for you! When are you going out?' I asked.

'In ten minutes. We're going for a hike and taking a picnic with us, it's going to be an all day date and I am _so_ excited.' I could tell she was grinning.

'Have fun, and I expect all details after,' I said.

'You'll get them all, don't worry. Oh and don't tell my brothers.' She whispered, making me laugh seeing as she had basically shouted the rest of the conversation.

'I won't,' I promised.

'Bye, Kimmie. Love you.'

'Love you too, Bekah. Bye.' I hung up the phone and looked around the suddenly huge, empty house. I hated how alone I felt, so I decided to clean to provide myself with a distraction, which took a lot longer than I was expecting; it looked like no one had cleaned up after themselves in the few days I had been gone. I was just finishing putting fresh sheets on to Jeremy's bed, having already done mine and Elena's when my phone rang from my back pocket. I answered it without checking the caller I.D.; I balanced it between my ear and shoulder as I continued to make up Jeremy's bed.

'Hello, princess. Drop whatever you're doing, you're coming to dinner with me and Stefan.' Damon's voice infiltrated my ear.

'No thanks, I'm good.' I replied, not missing a beat, I huffed when I couldn't get Jeremy's pillow to stay straight.

'What are you doing?' Damon asked curiously.

'Making Jeremy's bed.'

'Well, you deserve a break. You agree? Great! We'll pick you up in thirty minutes, dress nicely we're going to a good restaurant.' Damon said, hanging up before I could reply.

I sighed in annoyance when I heard the phone click off. I knew that if I didn't get dressed he would just drag me out of here against my will. I didn't know why he wanted me to come, but I was curious to find out. I finished straightening Jeremy's sheets before I went to Elena's room and rooted through her closet. Nice meant a dress and I didn't own any; I decided on a dark blue lacy skater dress that cut off half way down my thighs. I brushed my hair, leaving it down like I always did; I added my black flats and Elena's leather jacket before I made my way down stairs. I heard Damon's car pull up and I put my phone in my jacket pocket and grabbed my keys, locking the door before he had the chance to even leave his car. I climbed in the back seat and slammed the door before I looked between the both of them suspiciously.

'What are you up to?' I asked bluntly.

'Ah, ah, ah, it's a surprise,' Damon said, but I knew that it wasn't going to be a good one.

'You have _got_ to be kidding me.' I shouted, completely pissed when he pulled up to the Mikaelson mansion.

'Nope,' Damon smirked, opening his own door before he opened mine, which could have been interpreted as courteous, but I knew he did it to make sure I actually left the vehicle.

'I am not getting in the middle of your pissing contest.' I said, crossing my arms defiantly once I had climbed out of the car.

'You won't, princess.' Damon promised, but I didn't believe him; he wanted me here to keep Klaus distracted, probably to buy more time so that they could open the coffin.

I was about to tell him where he could shove his promises when the door opened, Elijah greeting us with an amused look on his face. I gave him a bright smile and a friendly hug before I pulled away.

'Elijah! How are you?' I asked, ignoring the surprise from Stefan and Damon at how friendly I was with the older Mikaelson.

'Very well thank you, Kimberly. And yourself?' He asked, his tone polite but I could tell he was amused at Damon and Stefan's reactions as well.

'I was until I got tricked into being here.' I said honestly.

'Ah, well I'm sure you'll still have a lovely evening.'

'As long as I'm not put in between the idiotic vampires and the _unkillable_ hybrid I'm sure it'll be a fabulous evening,' I said, stepping around Elijah as he gestured for me to enter.

He moved back in front of the Salvatore brothers, blocking their exit as I made my way into the house, figuring he was going to offer some kind of warning I continued to enter without waiting. As I made my way into the dining room I eyed the clearly compelled servants with a roll of my eyes, not surprised in the slightest. I heard a throat clearing and looked in the direction it came from to see Klaus standing behind the head chair to my right. He smiled softly at me when he met my eyes and I knew that without a doubt I was giving him the same look. I went to step over to him but before I could he was suddenly in front of me. His lips were on mine, giving me a short but passionate kiss, that left us both breathless when he pulled away, he kissed my forehead gently before he flashed back to where he had been standing. I frowned in confusion until I heard footsteps approaching behind me; he didn't want the Salvatore's to see how he acted towards me, and after what Stefan did the other night I understood. I made my way to the opposite end of the table and sat down on the chair to Klaus' far left, I avoided the other main seat, figuring Elijah would probably sit there. I looked over to Klaus and noticed that the shutters came down and his expression became unreadable, though I could feel his anger as Damon and Stefan as they stepped into the room.

'Niklaus our guests have arrived,' Elijah announced his arm outstretched as he gestured to the two brothers behind him.

'Damon. Stefan. Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?' Klaus said, smiling dangerously as he gestured for them to sit at the table.

'Ahem,' I cleared my throat waiting to be acknowledged, Klaus gave me an amused look before he amended himself.

'Like civilized men and woman' he smiled at me before he looked back to the Salvatore's expectantly, his expression becoming cold.

'It's better to indulge him,' Elijah warned as he made his way into the room and took the other head seat to my left.

Damon moved forward and took the seat to my right, while Stefan didn't move an inch, I could feel his hatred for Klaus and I raised my brow at him, silently telling him to bite the bullet and take a seat. He didn't.

'I didn't come here to eat, Klaus.' Stefan said.

'Speak for yourself, I was promised food.' I muttered, sharing an entertained smile with Elijah when I felt his amusement.

'You'll get your food princess, don't worry,' Damon rolled his eyes.

'I better, you do _not_ want to see me when I'm hungry.' I warned.

'You forget I already have, I nearly lost a hand,' Damon said seriously.

'That'll teach you to not try and take food from a hungry woman.' I stuck my tongue out at him, it was childish, but I didn't care. Damon just laughed at me, but I knew he had taken my threat seriously. I felt jealously coming from the other end of the table and I looked over to meet Klaus' eyes giving him a 'don't do this again' look. He glared at me for a moment but calmed down when I sent a wave of reassurance his way. We all looked to Stefan when he started speaking again.

'I didn't want to come here at all, but I was told I had to, cause you could hear us out,' Stefan mumbled grumpily.

'Stefan just sit down for god sake. Or stomp your feet and your imitation of a five year old throwing a tantrum will be complete.' I snapped, irritated with his stubborn behaviour, he glared at me for a moment, before he complied. I could feel everyone's surprise that he had listened to me, but I wasn't stunned in the slightest; I could feel Stefan's guilt when he looked at me. I took it and sent him a wave of reassurance to replace it. He gave me a grateful smile and I returned it, silently letting him know while what he had done was stupid and reckless, I did forgive him.

The waitresses' laid the food down on the table and I tucked in without hesitation. I went to reach for the wine that had been laid in front of me, but hesitated; looking up to Klaus only to see his eyes were already on mine.

'Is this one of the waitresses?' I asked, holding up the glass in his direction.

He only smirked in answer; I huffed in annoyance and offered it to Elijah instead. I reached for my glass of water, grateful that attendant wasn't the only form of beverage available. I cringed away from the waitress that was bending over next to me as she filled Damon's empty glass.

'Thank you, love' Damon said, eyeing her behind as she walked away. I snorted and rolled my eyes at how obvious he was being; he gave me a look but I didn't elaborate. Instead I continued to eat my food, enjoying the different flavors in my mouth. Delicious.

'You lost your appetite,' Klaus commented, looking over to Stefan who wasn't touching his food.

'Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave grumpy Stefan at home,' Damon said, his voice a little sarcastic but I could hear the annoyance in his tone over his brother's behaviour.

Stefan and Damon shared a look before Stefan reluctantly started to eat his food, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

'That's the spirit! Isn't it nice? The five of us dining together? Such a treat,' Klaus smirked, his eyes twinkling darkly.

'I don't know why you're being sarcastic, I'm delightful,' I said, frowning at Stefan and Damon when they started laughing, 'why are you laughing?'

'Delightful, that's a good one,' Damon winked, laughing even more when he saw my disbelieving expression.

'No manners,' I said elbowing Elijah and gesturing to the two brothers.

'Indeed,' Elijah agreed, also amused.

'Anyway… I think I cut you off in the middle of a monologue, do continue.' I gestured to Klaus, ignoring his smirk.

'Ah yes, where was I?' He thought for a moment, 'is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?'

'Wait, you didn't undagger him?' I said, looking over to Stefan and Damon when Nik shook his head to my question, 'what are you up to?' I asked them, a ball of worry growing in my gut.

' _That_ is exactly what I'd like to know,' Nik muttered, also glaring at the Salvatore brothers.

'Nothing, I figured I knew how he felt about you, so the more the merrier,' Damon winked at Elijah before he continued to eat. I wasn't convinced; I could feel the deceit coming from Damon and Elijah but there was nothing I could do with just a feeling, I could only try and figure it out.

'Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the centuries, but we always make it through,' Nik assured them, but I could feel that he wasn't quite so sure over Elijah's feelings towards him at the moment.

'Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? When she helped us lure Mikael here to help him kill you.' Stefan said, his tone snarky.

'If you're referring to the fact that I killed our Mother, I've already come clean to Elijah,' Nik said, his eyes briefly flashing to mine as he lied; I had been the one to fill Elijah in last night, apparently he didn't want them to know that.

'Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? You might want to dial down the judgment until dessert.' Damon said to Stefan, his tone sarcastic with a hint of warning.

'We came here to make a deal, Damon. Not kiss his ass for seven courses.' Stefan said, his comeback making me snort in amusement, but when I had fully processed his words I was confused.

'A deal?' I looked between Klaus and the Salvatore brothers, 'what deal?'

'Odd that you didn't tell her, gentleman,' Klaus said, looking suspicious.

'We knew she wouldn't come if we did.' Damon lied; I could feel the dishonesty coming from him.

'I'm only going to ask one more time. What deal?' My tone booked no room for argument as I glared between the two younger vampires to my right.

'We'll get to it later in more detail, but basically they are using the final coffin as a bargaining chip. They want to make a deal in order for me to get it back.' Klaus explained, as he said the words I knew that though Klaus believed this to be the reason for the meeting, it wasn't at all; they were stalling for time.

'Well if you wanted to be deceptive you _probably_ shouldn't have invited the empath. Not the smartest idea you've ever had.' I ground out as I glared at Damon, who was meeting my glare with one of his own.

'Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?' Elijah asked, breaking into the conversation before Nik could ask me what I meant, and I wondered if he knew what they were planning to do with the coffin as well. But a twitch in the back of my mind told me there was something I was missing.

'I don't know. Ask Damon,' Stefan answered, sounding like a teenager with attitude, making me roll my eyes.

Klaus laughed and clapped his hands together in amusement, I shook my head at his reaction before I turned to Elijah to explain, 'they're in a bit of a love triangle at the moment.'

'Ah, I see,' Elijah said, and I felt a wave of understanding come from him as he glanced between the two brothers somewhat sympathetically.

'One more word about Elena and this dinner is over,' Stefan warned.

'Well… seeing as this whole dinner is to make a deal that will most likely involve her, she's gonna come up at some point Stefano,' I muttered, winking at him when he glared at me. Damon and Klaus laughed while Elijah's lips twitched to convey his amusement.

'Let's just put Elena on the do not discuss pile _until_ we make the deal,' Damon suggested.

'That's probably a good idea,' Klaus agreed, but he had a mischievous glint in his eye and I knew he was up to something, 'it's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?'

I felt Elijah tense beside me, hinting to his reluctance to discuss the subject and if I was honest I don't think I wanted to hear it either; Elijah's sympathetic glance earlier and Klaus now bringing up a past doppelgänger gave me the feeling this was their love triangle.

'Why would we discuss matters that have long since been resolved?' Elijah said, his tone calm as he lifted his napkin and repositioned it on his lap, but I could feel the unwillingness coming off him.

'Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katarina, and with Kim being Elena's sister, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line.' Klaus said, his eyes landing on me for a moment before he forced himself to look away.

'We aren't going anywhere, Elijah. Do tell,' Damon winked playfully, before he took a sip of his wine.

'When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus.' Elijah started; I kept my eyes on him, refusing to look at Klaus when I felt an unexpected twinge of jealousy.

'I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much.' Klaus disagreed, his voice a little bitter.

'So you were both in love with the same girl?' Stefan clarified.

Elijah nodded before he continued, 'our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell, which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I...grew estranged. Harsh words were traded; we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?'

'Until we realized the sacred bond of family,' Nik murmured, holding up his glass.

'Family above all,' Elijah said holding up his own glass, they toasted and drank.

'Well from the sounds of it you're better off without her anyway,' I muttered before taking a sip of my drink.

'Why would you say that, love?' Klaus asked, I could feel his amusement but when I looked up to meet his eyes I noticed that he had schooled his expression to look blank.

'She wouldn't chose, she was obviously just stringing you both along,' I said, meeting Klaus' eyes unflinchingly, I felt his amusement grow, but he was doing a very good job of hiding it; he was enjoying the fact that I was jealous.

'Much like Elena is with the Salvatore's?' Nik countered.

'That is a completely different and _very_ complicated situation. She will choose, I know she will and in all fairness she isn't _with_ either of them right now.' I argued.

'So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?' Elijah broke into the conversation, likely because he didn't want the argument to get more heated.

'Yes, let's do that I'm _very_ interested in where you're going to go with this,' I said glancing between Stefan and Damon as I sipped my drink.

'That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange; he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, Kim and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges.' Damon's voice was casual as he drank the rest of the wine in his glass after his pitch.

'The deal sounds fair, brother.' Elijah commented.

Klaus and I shared a 'no way in hell' look before he turned back to Damon to respond to his offer, 'I don't think you understand; Elena's blood assures that I will always be able to create more hybrids to defend myself against those who oppose me. Kim's visions and senses assure that I will always be a step ahead of my enemies; I would _never_ leave them behind.' Klaus said his tone final.

'Why don't we just cut to the real reason for this dinner?' I started, standing so abruptly that my chair fell to the floor, 'you're stalling for time so that Bonnie can get that coffin open, but I'm telling you now it is a _bad_ idea.' My tone was laced with warning and panic as I thought about the coffin actually being opened, I didn't know what or who was in it; I just _knew_ that whatever it was created a solid ball of dread in my gut.

'I am going to get some air,' Damon said, giving Stefan a weak smile before he stood and made his way out of the room.

'Let me deal with this,' Elijah murmured, standing from the table and exiting the room following after Damon, leaving me frowning after them both.

'Am I really that bad at intimidation that people just walk out of the room when I flat out accuse them of something?' I wondered aloud, looking over to Klaus when I heard him chuckle.

'It seems so, love. But thank you for the heads up,' he smirked.

'Did you two want me to leave as well or…?' Stefan said, snapping my gaze from Klaus' as I rolled my eyes at him.

'No need.' Klaus said, before he motioned to one of the waitresses, she walked over him and I ignored the stab of jealousy that flared within me as he brushed the hair from her neck, 'all that talk has made me thirsty, care to join me for a drink?' He leaned down, his hybrid face coming forward before he bit into her neck. I took the woman's pain and confusion and sent her calmness as a replacement. Stefan and I shared a look, rolling our eyes as Klaus drained the woman of her blood; for a moment it was as if we were travelling on the road again, like we had over the summer. I saw a brief flicker of the Stefan I knew before it was gone just as fast as it had appeared. We both looked over when we heard a thump to see the woman lying on the floor, dead.

'Delicious, aged to perfection,' Klaus smiled as he wiped the blood from around his mouth. I hate to admit it but that made my jealousy flare up again; I was offended by the idea of him enjoying her blood more than mine and I refused to meet his eyes, knowing he would be able to see it.

'Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, is to drive a wedge between me and my brother.' Stefan murmured, drawing my attention to him.

'Oh no, you're doing that well enough on your own. Because of Elena, you're gonna lose your brother and you'll only have yourself to blame.' Klaus smiled devilishly.

I walked over to Stefan and placed my hand on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly and amplifying the reassurance I was sending his way, 'you're not going to lose your brother,' I promised.

Stefan smiled softly at me and was about to respond when Damon and Elijah rejoined the party.

Damon wasted no time injecting himself into the conversation, 'what do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter.'

'Okay. I offer Elena and Kim's future happiness. You see, what Elena needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?'

'Matt Donovan, really?' Damon scoffed.

'Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family.' Klaus smiled.

'Well for one she's not in love with Matt Donovan.' I muttered.

'That doesn't matter to him; all that he wants is to continue the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, he'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?' Stefan said, his tone annoyed.

'Consider it a small return on my investment in her well being. See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. As well as her sisters.' His eyes flickered to mine before he looked back to Stefan and Damon, 'you know it's what's best for them.'

'I swear I've told you about this being the twenty first century and women having their own voices before, Nik.' I muttered, shaking my head at all of them; I knew this deal was bogus and just being used as a distraction but I didn't like the idea of my future being decided for me.

'Nik? Since when do you call him Nik?' Damon asked, surprised.

I opened my mouth to reply but stopped short when I realized that I couldn't remember when I had started calling him that, so I just shrugged in answer instead. I looked over to Klaus and noticed his eyes were soft as he met my gaze and that's when it clicked; yesterday when I had called him Nik when Elijah had been un-daggered, when I had said it to him the morning that Rebekah had came into his room and woke us both up, the surprise his siblings felt, as well as himself paired with him being _pleased._ He liked me calling him Nik, he softened every time I did, I just hadn't made the connection until then. I don't know how long we were staring at each other for, but my gaze was broken when Stefan made his way over to Klaus.

'What are you doing?' Damon hissed, but I was more concerned for Stefan at that moment.

He took Klaus' hand and they shook, 'nice try, Klaus. No deal.' As soon as the words left his mouth, I felt Klaus' anger for a split second before he was suddenly holding Stefan's arm in the burning fire. Stefan cried out for a brief moment before I focused and took the pain as if it were my own. He looked over at me, his eyes grateful before he brought back up the mask of pain. Damon went to help his brother but Elijah intercepted him, pinning him against the wall. I realized I was just left standing there as if I wasn't a threat and I frowned.

'Excuse me but I reckon I could control this situation pretty easily.' I crossed my arms over my chest in annoyance, which only grew when Klaus chuckled at me, before he looked back to Damon when he started yelling.

'Stop!'

'Bring me my coffin before I burn him alive.' Klaus said, grinning in victory, but I frowned when Damon and Elijah left the room; I could feel the deceit coming off them and I knew that they were definitely up to something.

'They're up to something,' I looked over to Klaus, frowning in concern.

'What's that, love?' Klaus asked.

'Something's going on…' I trailed off as I thought back over the evening and one comment stood out to me, a comment that made my blood run cold as I realized what was happening.

'The more the merrier.' I whispered, looking over to Klaus, 'they've woken Kol and Finn.'

'No, Elijah wouldn't-' he was cut off by Elijah and Damon strolling back into the room, his eyes flickered to mine as he slowly made his way over to me, throwing Stefan to the floor. He positioned himself so that he was slightly in front of me before he spoke to his brother, 'Elijah, why haven't you left yet?' His tone suggested that he wasn't really asking.

A waitress strode in with a silver platter, holding it by Elijah. He reached over, grasping the cloth, 'where are your manners, brother? We forgot dessert.' He ripped the cloth away to reveal two silver daggers.

Klaus pulled me closer to his back in a protective gesture before he answered his brother, 'what have you done?'

'No, what have _you_ done. See, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Niklaus. We're doing this on my terms now.' Elijah stated, once he had finished speaking a man strode into the room, making a beeline for Klaus; he was wearing a suit and was a striking resemblance to Elijah as he too had dark brown hair and dark eyes, yet he was obviously much younger.

'Kol,' Klaus whispered, shocked.

'Long time, brother,' Kol smirked and I could feel the hatred for his brother coming off him in waves.

'See, this is why you shouldn't piss people off.' I muttered, albeit unhelpfully from behind Klaus; I felt Kol's amusement but before any more could be said Klaus made a dash away from me, towards the daggers on the tray.

I shook my head at him, giving Kol a, 'what an idiot' look, which made him smirk, before we turned back to Klaus only to see an older man wearing severely outdated clothes appear in front of him. He struck a dagger through Klaus' outstretched hand, making both him and me cry out in pain. I could feel everyone else's surprise as I clutched my right hand with my left, trying not to focus on the fact that I now had a _hole_ in my hand.

'You all right there, darling?' Kol asked, his hand gently gripping my elbow, I was surprised by the concern I felt coming from him.

'Yeah, just have a _hole_ in my hand. No big deal.' I muttered sarcastically, he chuckled, making me roll my eyes before we both looked over to see Finn about to stab Klaus _again_.

'For god's sake,' I muttered, holding out my hand and channeling pain towards him; he cried out in surprise, dropping to his knees. I walked forward and grabbed both of the daggers from the tray, turning away from prying eyes before I tucked them into my underwear so they rested on the right side of my leg, before I turned back to their surprised expressions.

'Now no-one get's the daggers.' I muttered, dropping the pain I was channeling towards Finn.

'Who the hell are you?' Finn asked, his voice still ringing with pain but I could hear as well as feel his curiosity.

'That's what I would like to know,' Kol said, eyeing me suggestively, I raised my hand to him in warning, and he held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

'I'm Kim, family mediator for the evening.' I joked, giving a little wave to the rest of the room, and that was when I noticed that Damon and Stefan were gone, 'where they hell did they go?'

'I told them to leave when I revealed the daggers,' Elijah said.

'And they just left me in the middle of an Original fight? Bastards,' I shook my head in annoyance, before I looked up to see all of the men laughing at me, 'what?'

'They probably knew you could handle your own, darling.' Kol laughed, taking an unfinished glass of wine off the table before he swallowed it in one.

'I suppose,' I agreed before I continued, 'anyway, are you lot going to talk like civil human beings or are you going to resort to violence again?' I asked bluntly, taking the chair that Elijah had been seated in at dinner.

'Well that depends if our pompous brother continues to act like a deranged child,' Finn said, glaring at Klaus.

I could feel Klaus' unease from where I was sitting and I took it, sending him reassurance to replace it.

'Maybe start with an apology,' I suggested.

'What do I have to-,' Finn started but I cut him off by raising my hand.

'Not you, Klaus is the one who has had you daggered for nine hundred years and Kol for a century.' I said, gesturing for Klaus to speak, wincing as my hand started to throb; I was still losing blood and I was starting to feel a little light headed, hence why I had sat down.

'I am truly sorry, brothers, I just wanted to build a home for us all, a home where we could live without fear of father hunting us down.' Klaus tried to explain. I could feel Kol and Finn's anger simmer slightly as they most likely remembered the years they had spent running from Mikael.

'Mikael is dead.' Klaus said, looking between his brothers as he did, 'I killed him with his own weapon, he is gone forever.'

I could feel their shared relief, but still neither of them spoke, too stubborn to easily forgive Klaus, which in all fairness I could understand; if I had been daggered for any time at all really, I would be pissed over the time I had been robbed of.

'We can be a family, none of us will ever have to be alone again,' Klaus said, his voice soft, vulnerable. I wanted to go over and take his hand, but I was starting to feel weak now from the blood loss, so I sent him a wave of reassurance instead, smiling softly when he looked at me gratefully.

'I'll stay under one condition. Those daggers go to someone who would never dream of using them,' Kol said, crossing his arms over his chest.

'I stand by that,' Finn said.

'As do I.' Elijah agreed.

'Me too.' I piped up from the corner, giving Finn, Elijah and Kol an 'I got your back' thumbs up. Kol grinned, while Finn and Elijah's lips twitched in amusement.

Klaus was quiet for a long moment before he nodded, agreeing to the conditions. I could feel his anxiety at giving up the only weapon he had that would assure his siblings would stay with him forever, willingly or not, so I sent him a wave of comfort to ease his worrying's a little.

'The Salvatore's still have one if they undaggered Elijah, and you should still have one from when you undaggered Rebekah.' I said.

'I have the one that the Salvatore's used on me.' Elijah said.

Nik flashed away for a moment before he returned with the final dagger.

'Who get's to keep them?' I wondered, looking between each of the brothers.

'You could, darling?' Kol suggested.

'Oh no, I can only imagine the arguments when he has a tantrum and wants to use one of the daggers.' I muttered, holding my hands up defensively, wincing in pain.

Kol snickered and came to sit beside me, 'I like you.'

'Of course you do; I'm delightful.' I muttered, staring at the hole in my hand; the blood coming out of it was a black color… was that a good thing or no? I'm gonna go with _no._

Kol chuckled and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, 'you're my new bestie,' he declared.

I laughed and nodded in agreement; giving him a high five only to have to teach him what one was.

'Anyway…' Klaus drew our attention back to his; I noticed his amusement and amazement before he continued, 'who should have them then?'

'I vote for Elijah, he's a pretty chill guy.' I said.

Kol laughed at my description before he nodded in agreement, 'my bestie is right, Nik. Elijah should have them.'

Finn simply nodded rather than voicing his opinion.

'It's settled then,' I said, pulling up the skirt of my dress, and removing the daggers from the side of my leg where they were stored. I went to stand up to hand them over to Elijah but I stumbled and had to hold onto Kol for support. I could see black spots in my vision and when I saw a wrist with a bite mark in place I didn't hesitate and took it without complaint. As soon as I took the first gulp I knew it was Klaus' blood; only he tasted that delicious. I drank until the dizziness faded and the spots in my vision cleared.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before I passed the daggers to Elijah, noticing that I didn't have to move; he must have came over when I had stumbled as well; Kol was standing to my left, Elijah to my right, Finn right in front of me and Nik behind me. Once I had surrendered the daggers I leaned back into Nik, my head resting against his shoulder.

'You all right, darling?' Kol asked, and I could feel his concern; I took it and sent him a calming wave.

'I'm all good, bestie.' I held my hand up for a high five and he returned it with a chuckle. I felt Nik rest his chin on my shoulder while he placed his hands on my waist.

'What the bloody hell is going on in here?' Bekah said; I couldn't see her seeing as I was literally _surrounded_ by Mikaelson men, but I called out to her anyway.

'Bekah, it's about time you joined the party,' I shouted a huge grin on my face.

'Kim, where the hell are you?' Bekah asked.

Elijah and Nik were shoved a little so that she could join the circle; she met my eyes and gave me a warm smile. I leant over and gave her a hug and a knowing wink; I would ask her about her day in more detail when we weren't surrounded by her overprotective brothers. I settled back against Nik at the same time Bekah noticed Kol and Finn; her eyes lit up and her jaw dropped open in surprise before she jolted forward and pulled them into a group hug. I smiled at the genuine happiness I could feel coming from her, until she demanded that me, Elijah and Nik joined in on the hug, which meant that five Originals were basically _crushing_ me.

'Okay, if you could all bear in mind that I'm fragile that would be _wonderful_ ' I said, trying to breathe as I was stuck in between Bekah's back and Nik's chest.

They all laughed but loosened their grip a little, allowing me to get some air into my lungs. Once I could breathe again I wrapped my arms around Bekah's waist, participating in the hug; I was being treated as a part of the family and it made my heart expand with warmth. We were pulled out of our moment when the door suddenly crashed open; we all reluctantly parted, though I remained against Nik's chest as we faced the intruder. I could feel everyone's shock, as well as my own, when we saw the woman standing at the entrance of the room.

'Mother,' Bekah whispered, her tone one of disbelief.

 **That's chapter nineteen! I** _ **really**_ **enjoyed writing this one, sorry if you thought it was a bit long but there were just so many things I needed to fit in! Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to HockeyWriter19 for following my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **Lloryn: Great chapter! I love watching how their denial at being mates is slowly fading. Can't wait for the next update.**_ **Thank you so much; and me too, I'm really enjoying writing their relationship and I can't wait to see where it goes. I hope you enjoy chapter nineteen as well :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: ELIJAH IS BACK! Juhhuuu! I missed him soo much :D And great Kim/Klaus chapter ***_ _ **thumbs up**_ _ *** have a nice day :)**_ **Thank you :) And haha, I'm glad to have him back too and I can't wait to explore the different relationships Kim will have with the rest of the Mikaelson's now that they're all in it.**

 _ **Final-Year (Guest): This fanfiction is so good! Please update soon!**_ **Thank you, I'm glad you like it and I hope you enjoy the update :)**


	20. Dangerous Liaisons

Chapter Twenty

'Mother,' Bekah whispered, completely shocked, just as we all were.

Ester smiled at her daughter briefly before her eyes rested on Klaus, who was still stood with his hands on my hips with his head resting on my shoulder. I could feel his moderate surprise but he was mostly calm, I wondered if the fact he was holding me had anything to do with that; because I knew the only reason I was staying calm in that moment was because I was in his arms. Their Mother walked forward, coming to a stop in front of us, well me, I pursed my lips as I tried not to make some kind of witty inappropriate remark that would make the situation more awkward.

'Do you know why I'm here?' She said, my eyes snapped to hers, about to answer when I saw she was talking to Klaus and not me.

'To kill me?' Klaus said, and I snorted at how monotone his voice was when he responded to her.

'Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again.' She said her voice soft; but I didn't buy it. I had a bad feeling when I considered her true intentions and I knew that she had another motivation; I could feel Elijah and Klaus' suspicion as well.

'I should probably…' I went to move away from Klaus, but he didn't budge an inch and kept me where I was; I felt like I was intruding on their moment, and I was a little uncomfortable seeing as I didn't particularly like her.

'Nonsense, from what I understand you are a part of the family now,' Ester said, her eyes flickering to the side of my neck; Klaus had brushed my hair away from my shoulder and down my back when he had moved to rest his head on my shoulder. I frowned, confused when she continued to stare, unimpressed with whatever she saw.

'Have I got something on my neck? Why are you staring?' I wondered aloud, my hand going to cup the side of my neck, softly brushing Klaus' cheek in the process.

I heard Rebekah gasp in surprise and her reaction just made me more confused and a little frustrated, I gave her a look, silently asking her to tell me what was going on. When I saw her eyes go to Nik's neck as well, something clicked in my mind, Gloria's words coming back to me as I remembered; ' _you might have noticed that you both find the allure of each other's blood irresistible, which is because one of the steps is feeding from each other during intercourse. The second step being the marks made from this won't heal completely, you'll scar and you will forever be marked as belonging to one another.'_

Nik pulled back from me slightly and we both shared a surprised look as we realised that we had completed the ritual that Gloria had told us about all those months ago. We both silently agreed to address it later, not wanting to broach the subject in front of everyone else.

'I'm going to take her home, Mother.' Nik said, lifting his head from my shoulder as he interlinked our hands.

'Of course, Niklaus,' She replied, though she didn't look pleased.

We walked out of the house, hand in hand, though I made sure that all of the siblings were nothing but calm before I left. I was surprised when Klaus made no move to lift me and flash me back to the house with his supernatural speed, but I made no comment about it when I felt his reluctance to go home; he was taking as much time as possible.

'Stay with me tonight?' I asked, watching his expression as I waited for an answer.

He looked at me in surprise before he smiled softly, 'you don't have to do that, love. I can handle my Mother.'

'You're Klaus Mikaelson, the Original hybrid, you can handle anything,' I gave him a playful smile, happy when he smirked smugly; his mother and Mikael seemed to make him question his strength and I hated it, 'I wasn't offering because you can't handle your Mother, I was offering because I want you to.'

He grinned genuinely before he pulled us to a stop at the side of the road, yanking my hand so that I was flush against him. He stared into my eyes for a moment, I didn't know what he was looking for; I could feel his uncertainty as well as his hope and I wondered what he was thinking. After a while he seemed to snap out of his thoughts, as soft smile playing on the edges of his lips, 'as you wish, love.' He whispered before he kissed my forehead gently; I could feel how grateful he was to not have to go home tonight and I hated that his Mother's presence made him want to stay away from his own house.

Eventually we made it back to my house; my phone started vibrating in my pocket just as I stepped onto the porch; I pulled it out of my jacket and answered it immediately when I saw it was Elena.

'Hey, Lena what's up?' I asked.

'Care's father is dead; we think the same person who attacked Brian Walters did it. He had vampire blood in his system and he refused to complete the transition,' Elena said, grief clearly present in her voice.

'Oh my god how is she?' I asked, gesturing for Klaus to get the keys out of my pocket.

'As good as can be expected, I left her a little while ago and came home to find Ric had been stabbed in the stomach, so when you get home, don't freak out at all the blood.' Elena said, her voice casual as if she had just recited the weather forecast.

'Is he all right? Where are you?'

'At the hospital, he's fine; I had to stab him to actually kill him seeing as he was wearing his ring to bring him back. I'm just gonna make sure he settles in all right and then I'll be home.' Elena promised.

'Okay, I'll probably be asleep when you get in, just to pre warn you. Oh and Klaus is staying over, too.' I said taking the keys from Klaus, smiling in amusement as he failed to use the right one.

'All right. Love you, Kimmie.'

'Love you too, Lena.' I hung up the phone; finally getting the door open, I turned to Klaus,' you can come in,' I winked.

I noticed that the power was off and I couldn't help the chill that ran down my spine, 'well this is creepy.' I murmured, 'there isn't anyone else here is there?' though I _knew_ there wasn't, I had seen enough horror movies that started just like this and you couldn't be too careful, Prophet senses or no.

'No, love.' Klaus chuckled as he assured me, 'do you know where the fuse box is?'

'Under the stairs.' I answered automatically, gripping his hand tighter as he moved in the direction of the staircase, probably able to see perfectly well with his supernatural eyesight. I heard the door creek open and a moment later the house was illuminated. I gasped when I saw the bloody handprints on the wall, leading the way upstairs.

'That's going to be a _bitch_ to get off,' I muttered.

Klaus rolled his eyes at my comment and I just winked at him. I made sure that the door was securely locked before I dragged him upstairs, ignoring the massive pool of blood by the hall bathroom. Today had been taxing enough; trying to get blood out of the floorboards and off the walls was tomorrow's problem. I turned on my bedroom light before I closed the door and locked it, the attack making me a little more paranoid than usual, much to Klaus' amusement.

'Don't worry, love. If they come back I'll protect you,' his voice was laced with amusement but I could also hear the promise behind his words and I gave him a soft smile in appreciation as he sat down on the edge of my bed. I pulled back the sheets and rummaged in my draws for some pajamas to wear. I hung Elena's jacket on the back of the door before I pulled my dress up over my head, as soon as I had placed it on the floor, I smiled devilishly in Klaus' direction when I could sense his hunger. I pulled my vest top on over my head and my shorts over my legs, laughing lightly when he pouted. Before I could make my way to my side of the bed, he had me on my back in the middle of the mattress, erupting a startled laugh from me. He starred at my face with a grin on his lips before he gently brushed my hair out of my face, his hand then lingering on the mark on my neck.

'How do you feel about this, love?' His voice was guarded, but I could feel his concern that I would be unhappy about what we had done.

'I'm okay with it,' I told him honestly, my hand caressing the side of his face, smiling softly as he leaned into my touch, 'more than okay.' I could feel his relief and I continued, 'how do you feel about it?'

He just gave me a 'what do you think' look before he gently kissed my lips and then my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin.

'How are you over your Mother coming back?' I asked him, my voice soft once he had pulled back. I felt a flicker of anxiety but it dispelled when I moved my thumb back and forth on his cheek in a comforting motion, I was certain if I hadn't been holding him he would have stiffened.

'I don't know, I want to believe that she wants us to be a family. But how can she when I literally tore her heart from her chest?' He said, his voice so low that I almost don't hear him, 'what do you think, love?'

'Honestly,' I paused, looking to him with a regretful frown on my face, 'I don't think she came back to rebuild her family, I think she came to destroy it.'

His eyes were sad and vulnerable but he didn't look surprised. I pulled his head to my chest, comforting him as well as I could, gently running my fingers through his hair as he exhaled softly. I heard his breathing even out and I felt my own eyes drooping as I followed closely behind him.

'Kim! Wake up!' Elena pounded on my door.

I groaned, 'what time is it?'

'Nearly ten,' Elena answered, sounding amused.

'Well I still have a few more hours,' I argued.

'No, we need to talk; Elijah came to see me last night.'

'Okay, fine. An hour,' I bargained.

'All right, I'm going to go for a run and then Stefan and Damon should be here as well,' she said, her voice becoming fainter as she moved away from my door as she spoke.

I sighed and opened my eyes, knowing I wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep now, especially with the sunlight pouring in due to the fact I hadn't closed my curtains last night. As I lifted my head I noticed that Klaus and I were in the same position we had been in when Bekah had walked in on us the other morning; I was lying on top of him, my head on his chest, my hands around his neck while his hands were wrapped around my waist. I also noticed that he was only in his boxers and I frowned, not remembering him taking them off before we had fallen asleep last night, though I wasn't complaining; the feel of his bare chest underneath my fingertips felt _wonderful_. Seeing as I actually had a moment, I couldn't help but admire his peaceful expression as he slept; his dark blonde curls and relaxed appearance made him look somewhat angelic, the irony of which made me smile, as I knew he was anything but. I reached up and gently brushed a few stray curls away from his face, secretly delighted when he happily sighed. Unable to resist, I leant forward and placed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, moving to kiss the other side when he didn't stir. Deciding to push my luck I bought my lips to his and squealed when I was suddenly underneath him.

'How long have you been awake?' I asked as I stared up at him.

'Long enough to know we have the house to ourselves for an hour,' he playfully smirked, his forehead resting against mine for a moment before our lips connected. He had one hand on my cheek; his thumb gently moving back and forth while the other went to my waist, pulling me even tighter against him. My own hands went to his neck, gliding over the mark that mirrored mine, squirming in anticipation when he growled. My legs wrapped around his waist, resting in the arch of his back; this new position allowed his hips to align with mine, the friction making us both moan in pleasure. I went to move my hands to his boxers, wanting them _off_ , but as if he knew what I was going to do, he captured both of my hands in one of his own, pinning them above my head, underneath the pillow above me.

I made a sound of protest, which made him grin against my neck, I was about to complain but he suddenly sunk his teeth into my neck, right over my mark and the pleasure it created made all of the fight leave me in an instant. My back arched as I desperately tried to gain some friction against him, but he ushered my head to the crook of his neck, where his own mark had opened up. I leaned forward and drank from him without hesitation, moaning at how incredible he tasted. His grip on my hands loosened and I brought one to his hair and the other to his shoulder as leverage while I continued to drink from him. I felt him tear away my shorts and underwear as well as ridding himself of his own, before I had time to process it he slid inside me, the abruptness making us both moan deeply as we continued to drink.

His fangs withdrew from me and I whimpered in protest as the wound on his neck healed a moment later. I licked the remaining blood away, enjoying the shiver that ran through his body as I did so. He hips began to move faster against mine, his hands going to my ass and holding me in place making the movements much _rougher_ and heightened the pleasure cascading through my body. His lips connected with mine and I felt myself on the brink of reaching my climax, and he seemed to sense it too; one of his hands moved to my core, two of his fingers moving over my clit roughly. That was all it took; I fell over the edge, him swallowing my scream as his lips continued to move against mine; my hands tugged roughly at his hair, and that seemed to push him over the edge as well, growling in satisfaction as he did. His forehead rested against mine for a moment before his head went to the crook of my neck, licking the dry blood remaining and raising goose bumps on my skin. We both lay there for a moment longer; I gently ran my hands through his hair as we waited for our breathing to go back to normal.

Eventually he reluctantly pulled back from my neck, placing a soft kiss on my lips before he rolled over to his back, jolting my pillow in the process. I decided to take the shower first, knowing that Elena would be back soon; I washed my hair and body as quickly as I could, rejoining Klaus in my room. I didn't notice his particularly soft expression until I was dressed in my black high waisted skinny jeans and royal blue skintight vest top.

'What?' I asked, wondering what had made him also particularly smug as well as pleased in the short amount of time I had been gone.

He held up the shirt that I had been keeping underneath my pillow, the shirt that belonged to him, which by the satisfied look in his eyes he was aware of, 'care to explain this, love?'

'Well… when you left after the whole fiasco at the school so I had Bonnie spell the shirts that you stored in my bag so they would keep their scent and I could get some sleep,' I said nonchalantly, looking anywhere but him, I refused to focus on what he was feeling, afraid of what I would find. The high school had been a long time ago, what if he thought I was crazy for needing his shirt to sleep for that long?

'So that's why you've been well rested and I've been counting the minutes until morning.' He chuckled, his voice sounding amused but it was the soft edge to it that made my eyes move back to his.

'You don't think I'm crazy?' I asked, in a flash he was in front of me, gently brushing the damp hair away from my face, his hand lingering on my cheek.

'Of course not, love. I just wish I had the same idea, I could have saved myself a lot of irritation,' he teased.

I opened my mouth to reply but I was cut off by Elena pounding on the door, 'Kim, tell me you're awake.'

I huffed in annoyance, 'I'm awake Elena.'

'Okay, Stefan and Damon will be here soon.'

'All right, have you had breakfast?' I asked.

'No, I'm not hungry.' I heard the bathroom door close.

I rolled my eyes, not answering her, knowing what she really meant; she was hungry but too lazy to make anything. I kissed Klaus' lips softly, 'do you want breakfast?'

'I would, but I should probably get going, love.' Klaus said almost reluctantly.

I could feel his hesitancy to leave, but I knew he needed to check in on his siblings, so I just nodded, not wanting to make him feel bad about wanting to be there for his family. He was literally dressed in a flash, and he placed a short but passionate kiss on my lips before he was gone, a soft breeze passing through the room. I made my way downstairs, doing my best to ignore the pull in my heart that was demanding I go back to him.

I decided to make French toast and scrambled eggs for breakfast, craving a change; I made extra knowing that Damon and Stefan were coming over. Elena's timing was as perfect as ever as she walked into the kitchen just as I placed her portion on a plate. She moaned when she smelled the food and her eyes lit up when she saw it; I grinned at her and passed her the plate, laying out some for Stefan and Damon and placing them on the table when I heard the doorbell ring. I had grabbed my own portion and taken my seat when the Salvatore brothers entered the room and tucked into their food without another word when I informed them it was theirs. We ate in comfortable silence and once everyone was done I cleared the plates and loaded them into the dishwasher, sitting back down when Elena started to tell us what Elijah had told her.

'The one in the coffin was Ester's Mother, she came back and according to Elijah, she wants to rebuild their family and instigate peace in the town.' Elena said, her eyes flickered to mine and I discreetly nodded, silently telling her I already knew that.

'As in the Original witch?' Stefan asked.

'The very same,' Elena nodded.

'What? How is she even alive? Thought her hybrid freak show of a son ripped her heart out a thousand years ago.' Damon said, his tone one of sarcasm and confusion.

My fists clenched in my lap as I forced myself not to verbally react or get defensive of him bad naming Klaus; it was fair that they hated him; they didn't know the same side of him that I knew.

'She was supposed to help us _kill_ Klaus,' Stefan said, his voice one of defeat.

I bit my tongue and gladly jumped up when the doorbell rang, leaving them to their ramblings before I lashed out. I opened the door and frowned when I saw no one on the porch. I was about to close it when something on the floor caught my eye; one envelope with my name on it sat on top of a giant white box while another with Elena's name on it sat on the floor. I picked up the box, somehow managing not to drop it as I maneuvered my way into the house and kicked the door shut.

'We have mail,' I muttered passing Elena her envelope as I gently placed the white box on the kitchen counter before opening my own. I pulled out a piece of card, clearly an invitation, 'please join the Mikaelson family, this evening at seven o'clock for dancing, cocktails and celebration.' I read aloud, instinctively I flipped the invitation over, my lips forming a bright smile when I noticed the handwritten note on the back.

Love,

I hope to see you tonight; your presence will make the night much more bearable.

Save me a dance.

Fondly,

Nik.

I placed the invitation on the counter and lifted the lid on the box, gasping in surprise when I saw what was enclosed. A beautiful blood red dress greeted me; it was strapless with a sweet heart neckline, fitted down to the waist where the silky material flowed out and rippled like a waterfall. The bodice was encrusted with hundreds of tiny little diamonds that flowed down to the bottom of the dress as if they were droplets of water travelling down a windowpane. I didn't realize that the other occupants in the kitchen had gathered around to stare at the dress as well until Elena spoke.

'Wow, it's beautiful.' She said, clearly in awe.

'It is.' I agreed, placing the invitation inside the box before I gently put the lid back on the box.

'It's not bad enough that they are moving into town, now they want a housewarming gift?' Damon scoffed, but I was relieved he wasn't making a harsh comment over the dress.

'They probably just want to formally introduce themselves into the town,' Stefan shrugged, clearly not as concerned about the ball as Damon was. Elena was about to respond when she suddenly froze when she flipped over her own invitation.

'There's a note on the back,' she met my eyes, and I knew whatever it was wasn't good, 'Elena, I think it's time that we finally meet. Ester.'

The rest of the afternoon passed in a complete blur as Elena left to meet up with Caroline to frantically track down a dress while I invited over Rebekah to get ready at my house, seeing as hers was overrun with staff getting the mansion ready for the ball. She brought over some hair and make up artists and honestly I was relieved; I knew if it was left to me than I would have been screwed, I never wore make up and I usually just left my hair down so I definitely wasn't an expert. Though I was moderately surprised when I noticed that Kol had tagged along as well, in fact I nearly closed the door in his face, as I wasn't expecting anyone other than Bekah.

'Wow, darling what did I do to deserve a door in the face?' Kol joked, holding his hand to his chest in mock hurt.

'Give me a minute, I'll think of something,' I joked, opening the door wider, 'come on in bestie.'

He chuckled and walked over the threshold, immediately making himself at home on the sofa and switching the T.V. over to a horror channel. I rolled my eyes and sat beside him, briefly wondering where Bekah had gone. I crossed my legs before I gave him an amused look, 'one night and you already know how to use a T.V.? Who got to teach you that?'

'Elijah seeing as he is more patient than Bekah. I would have asked Nik, but he never came home last night,' Kol said, raising his eyebrows suggestively in my direction.

'Yeah… I asked him to stay over. Ric was attacked and I didn't want to be left alone,' I lied, not wanting to voice his reluctance to go home because of his Mother.

'You're sweet to try and lie for him, darling. You could have invited us all over; none of us wanted to be under the same roof as Mother last night. Talk about awkward,' Kol muttered, his tone sarcastic but I could feel that he was in fact being honest.

'You're welcome here anytime, bestie, you don't need an invitation.' I told him, squeezing his shoulder lightly, sending him some comfort as I did so.

He seemed to sense my honesty and he sent me a genuine smile before he nodded briefly in thanks. I smiled in return before I jumped at the screaming coming from the T.V. managing to fall onto the floor in the process. Kol almost joined me with how hard he was laughing at my fall; I sent him a mock glare as I stood, rubbing my ass cheek as it throbbed.

'I had you pegged as a tough bird, darling.' Kol said, still laughing; now wiping tears from his cheeks.

I rolled my eyes and smacked the back if his head, 'I'm perfectly tough, I daggered an Original!' I said, grinning when he paled, 'Mikael, don't worry the bastard had it coming.' I muttered.

'You daggered our father?' Kol asked, clearly disbelieving.

'Pshhh, yeah. I'm tougher than I look,' I said, my tone completely serious as I flexed my bicep and kissed it.

He only laughed at me, making me frown.

'She forgets to mention that father was a willing participant,' Bekah piped up as she joined us in the living room.

'Willing? Nah I took him down on my own,' I waved my hand dismissively.

Both of them laughed at me now and I just mock glared at the two of them before my lip twitched and I dissolved into a fit of laughter myself, 'ok fine, maybe I exaggerated a _little_ ' I said holding my thumb and index finger half an inch apart, smiling when I felt their amusement; it was much better than the suspicion that seemed to lurk since their Mother had returned.

'Anyway, Kimmie, we need to start getting ready.' Bekah declared, holding her hand out to me to help me up off the sofa.

'What? It's only three o'clock! The ball isn't until seven!' I groaned, refusing to move from my seat.

Kol chuckled at me while Bekah just gave me a stern look; I sighed and took her hand, giving up.

'You put up one hell of a fight, darling.' Kol teased, I smacked his head again when Bekah pulled me around the sofa towards the stairs where she had set up the staff. It was going to be a _long_ day.

Approximately three and a half hours later we were ready. Bekah sent the staff she had bought with her away as she grabbed her clutch from off my bed, rifling through it to make sure she had everything she needed, what she had in there I couldn't possibly imagine. I grabbed my phone from my dressing table and strategically placed it in between my breasts, checking in the mirror to make sure it wasn't visible. Bekah shook her head at me in astonishment, but otherwise didn't comment.

'You look beautiful, if I haven't told you already,' I said to Bekah, meaning it completely; she was wearing a dark green floor length dress that was fitted to her figure, her make up was natural, her eyes smoky, making her blue eyes pop. Her hair was pinned to one side of her neck, leaving the other bare; she was wearing extensions to add volume and length to her platinum blonde curls.

'Thank you, sweetheart' she said, smiling brightly before she looked me over, 'so do you; I can't wait to see Nik's reaction,' She said with a grin.

I blushed but gave her a soft smile in thanks as I looked at my reflection in the mirror; I almost didn't recognize myself. I was wearing the dress that Nik had gifted me and honestly I think that was what was most mesmerizing; the dress flowed so beautifully and elegantly I had trouble taking my eyes off it; especially with the diamonds catching and reflecting the light in an almost tantalizing way. My hair was in its natural loose curls, which I had been surprised about, but I wasn't complaining; the parts that would normally frame my face and cover my neck had been pinned back with small diamond pins similar to my dress. My make up was natural, much like Bekah's; I was wearing bronzer, fake lashes, my eye shadow consisted of a golden brown smoky color and my lipstick was the same enticing red as my dress. My shoes were flats, which I could get away with thanks to the fact that my dress was floor length; Bekah had tried to tempt me into wearing heels but gave up when I flat out said no.

'I can't wait to see Matt's reaction to you,' I winked, grinning when she flushed a little in response. She had told me that her date with Matt yesterday had been amazing, they'd hit it off and hadn't run out of things to talk about; they'd even kissed goodnight, which had made her blush when she told me about it. I was lovely to see her light up and dopily grin whenever Matt was mentioned and I just hoped it worked out for them.

'We'd better get going. This is your ball, you can't be late,' I murmured as I looked at the time on my bedside table; we had twenty minutes to get there. I noticed that Kol was gone when we made our way down stairs and figured he had left at some point to get himself ready, despite the fact he had already been wearing a suit. During the journey I remained mostly silent as Bekah expressed her excitement over the ball, but secretly I think she was looking forward to her company for the evening. We got out of the car after paying the driver and linked arms as we walked through the double doors, my mouth falling open when I saw just how many people were actually there. I saw so many tuxes, some staff and some guests; I saw many flashes of color from the different ball gowns that the women were wearing, a part of me feeling like I was in the middle of a fairytale as I took in the scene. Bekah pulled me forward, snapping me out of my trance as she dragged me over to Kol who was standing at the bottom of the staircase with several empty champagne flutes around him.

'Why are you so miserable?' I asked him, my voice soft when I felt the sadness he was trying hard to fight coming from him.

'Nothing, darling I'm right as rain.' He gave me a forced bright smile and I just gave him a look, silently telling him to continue, 'Mother is up to something, I can feel it.'

'She is.' I confirmed, squeezing his shoulder and sending him a comforting wave, 'and we'll figure it out, don't you worry.' I gave him a warm smile, glad when I felt his sadness ebb away to be replaced with calmness and a slither of hope that I knew he would never dream of admitting to. I gave each of their arms a squeeze before I excused myself to find my sister; I had already told her that meeting Ester wasn't a good idea and I knew she believed me, but I just wanted to make sure she understood how serious I was being. Though deep down I knew it wasn't going to make a difference; willingly or not she was going to see Ester if the Original witch had anything to say about it. I noticed Elena and Caroline standing in the middle of the giant dance floor and I made my way over to them, gripping her elbow to gain her attention.

'Hey, Lena. You look gorgeous.' I told her honestly, in complete awe at the gorgeous brown and black ball gown she was wearing, before I looked over to the pale pink ball gown Care was wearing, 'so do you, Care.'

They both gave me a bright smile before they took in my dress and told me I looked beautiful, I smiled in thanks and quickly changed the subject, not liking the attention.

'We're clear on the plan right?' I asked them both, continuing when they both looked confused, 'there is no plan, we're here to have a fun night and make memories, and most importantly, to stay away from the Original witch who is most definitely up to no good.'

Elena rolled her eyes but agreed, as did Caroline, but I still had a ball of dread in my gut and I vowed to keep a close eye on her right there and then.

'Um, Kimmie… are you gonna get that?' Elena asked, looking a mixture of amused and embarrassed as she gestured to my breasts, I frowned at her not understanding, so she continued, 'your breasts are ringing.'

'Oh!' I reached in between my breasts and pulled out my phone, ignoring Caroline and Elena's amusement. I checked the caller I.D. and frowned in surprise when I saw who was calling.

'Bekah? Why are you calling me, we're literally in the same place.' I murmured, moderately amused.

'Because Mother has gathered us upstairs for the introduction and she won't let us leave until it has been completed.' Bekah said.

'Ah, I see. Sucks to be you,' I teased.

'Funny you should say that,' She said, clearly amused.

'Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like what you're going to say,' I replied.

'Because you have _very_ good instincts,' I could tell she was grinning, 'Mother said last night that you were family, so she wants you to stand with us during the introduction.'

'You know if it wasn't your Mother's suggestion I would be touched.' I said honestly before continuing, 'but because it is and I'm pretty sure she despises me, I'm going to say thanks but no thanks.'

'I wouldn't be asking you if we didn't see you as family as well, Kimmie.' She promised, her voice soft but also a little amused with my answer, 'besides you can either come up here willingly or I will send Elijah to drag you up.'

'Elijah is the most chill guy I've ever met, he wouldn't drag me anywhere,' I said confidently.

I could hear Kol laughing loudly in the background, making me assume that all of the Original siblings were eavesdropping in on the conversation.

'Perhaps you're right, but Kol would and Nik definitely would.'

I sighed, knowing she was right, 'you got me there. Where do I need to go exactly?'

'Nik will come and get you sweetheart.' Bekah said and as soon as she finished her sentence I felt the pulling in my heart again, stronger than ever, and it forced me to turn around where my eyes immediately met Nik's as he stepped down from the grand staircase. He had looked amused before he met my eyes, but now he looked completely shocked as he stared at me in awe. It was intense being on the other end of that stare; I felt like he was staring at me as if I were the only girl in the room, making everyone else slip away. Once his eyes had finished taking me in and met my gaze again, his eyes were soft, as was his smile as he made his way over to me. I waved to Care and Elena, ignoring their surprise at seeing Klaus look so gentle, as I walked to meet him in the middle.

'Someone looks good in a tux,' I said by way of greeting; he grinned at me before he offered me his arm, I placed my arm through his allowing him to lead me up the stairs.

'I'd rather talk about how ravishing you look in that dress,' Klaus smirked, his eyes dancing with happiness that he only revealed because no one else could see as we had our backs to them as we walked up the stairs.

'About that, I'm torn between scolding you for giving me something so extravagant or thanking you,' my eyes danced playfully, 'I still haven't decided which way I'm gonna go yet.'

He chuckled, 'I look forward to finding out, love.'

'I'm sure you do,' I rolled my eyes when he just gave me a smug smirk, knowing I couldn't stay mad at him for long if that was the way I decided to go.

'Bestie! Don't you look stunning tonight!' Kol said, catching me by surprise; I had been so focused on Klaus that I hadn't noticed we had stepped into a smaller room where all of the Mikaelson siblings were gathered, though their Mother wasn't present, which I found odd.

'Thank you bestie, as do you,' I told him honestly as I returned his hug with one hand as my other was still linked through Nik's arm. I turned to everyone else when Kol let me go and smiled brightly, 'how's everyone doing tonight?'

'I'll be better when I'm sure my Mother has nothing but good intentions,' Elijah told me truthfully, surprising me; he was usually so polite and reserved but I appreciated his honesty.

'Whatever it is, we'll figure it out,' I assured him; I was sure that we would find a solution in the same way that I was sure she was up to something.

Elijah looked like he wanted to say something else but snapped his mouth shut, and when the door opened a moment later, I knew why. Ester joined us in the small room and I unconsciously stepped closer to Nik, glad that Kol stood on the other side of me, preventing her from getting too close for comfort. Nik placed his hand around my waist, squeezing me in assurance; I reciprocated the gesture to show my gratefulness. I tried not to visibly stiffen when her eyes settled on mine, which was easier as I was enclosed in Klaus' arms.

'Ah, Kimberly; I'm glad you were able to join us.' Ester said, her tone and her reeking of insincerity.

I forced a smile but otherwise didn't respond. I focused on sending calming waves to the rest of the Mikaelson's when I felt their unease at how she stared at me; she looked to me with terribly concealed disgust and it reminded me of how she had looked at Klaus right before he tore her heart from her chest. I felt them all relax, thankfully; I didn't want Nik or Kol to lash out, at least not before we found out what she was up to.

'Let's begin, shall we?' She gestured for us to go first but I forced a smile and gestured for her to make the first move, with a look of displeasure she did. We made our way to the grand staircase that overlooked the room where most of the guests were now gathered; I could feel Damon and Stefan's confusion when they saw me stood up here with the Original family, but I noticed that Elena and Caroline weren't surprised, leading me to believe that Caroline had eavesdropped in on my phone call earlier. Ester stepped down the steps, coming to a stop on the sixth step, leaving us all a step of our own to stand on. Elijah stood behind Ester, then Finn, then me and Klaus, then Bekah with Kol on the top step. Klaus' hand was still on my waist and he began to move his thumb back and forth in a comforting gesture as if he sensed my nerves. We were all handed a flute of champagne which made me and Klaus share a look and a secretive smile when we thought of the last time we had drank champagne; it had been in Chicago over the summer, so much had happened since then.

'If everyone could gather, please.' Elijah's calm and authoritative voice immediately silences the entire room as he lifts up his glass, 'welcome, thank you for joining us. Whenever my Mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries old waltz; so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom.' Elijah and the rest of us drained our glasses and placed them on the empty tray the waiter was holding, as we waited for the commotion of the guests making their way to the ballroom to die down, before we joined them.

'Just to warn you, I, unlike you wasn't around when this dance was invented so I'm definitely going to suck.' I said, my tone slightly teasing though my seriousness was still conveyed.

'Don't worry, love; it's all in the leading you'll be fine,' Klaus promised, though he was amused at my anxiety.

'Well then she probably shouldn't dance with you, then Nik,' Kol piped up making everyone aside from Nik laugh, though I knew his glare was only for show.

'I wouldn't brag about your dancing skills, little brother, you're a little out of practice seeing as you've been out of commission for a century,' Nik quipped.

'Nonsense, Nik. Talent like mine doesn't require practice,' Kol said, waving his hand dismissively at Nik's suggestion that his dancing could be anything less than perfect.

I just shook my head and smiled at the both of them, taking my place as the dance began, once it did I was lost as I stared into Nik's eyes and trusted him to lead me, which he did, brilliantly.

'See, love; easy,' he smiled, smugly.

I just rolled my eyes but I couldn't help the small smile that broke out across my face, 'would you even be you if you weren't so smug?' I teased.

'Probably not, love,' he chuckled, 'I have every right to be smug; I am the most powerful being on the planet.'

'Uh-oh. Here we go,' I mock groaned, laughing when he frowned at me, 'you've only told me that a thousand times over the summer _alone_ , yet you feel the need to remind me encase I have forgotten.' I winked.

'It's an important thing to remember, love.' He smirked, resting his forehead against mine, his eyes glittering with amusement.

'If you say so,' I playfully rolled my eyes, grinning when he mock glared at me.

'I'm going to have to spin you to someone else, love.' Klaus said, I frowned, panicked when I was suddenly spinning and I hit a hard chest, I looked up to who it belonged to and smiled when I saw Elijah.

'Hey, Elijah, how are you doing?' I asked him.

'Very well, thank you. I trust you're enjoying your evening?' He said, his tone was polite but I could feel his amusement and genuine interest as well as his lingering concern.

'So far so good,' I nodded, 'what about you?'

'I'm sure you already know the answer,' he raised a knowing eyebrow.

'True, but it's politer to ask,' I winked, grinning when his lips twitched in amusement.

'Very well, I grow more concerned by the second regarding my Mother's intentions.' He admitted.

'Look, Elijah; you're the most chill guy I've ever met,' I started, continuing after I grinned at Elijah's raised eyebrow, 'so let me assure you whatever she's planning we will fix it or stop it one way or the other.' I sent him a wave of reassurance, which was amplified seeing as our hands were linked as we danced. I was pleased when his concern seemed to fizzle away slightly and his shoulders seemed to moderately relax.

We continued to dance in comfortable silence as I glanced around at who everyone else was dancing with; I saw Rebekah was now with Damon, and they both looked incredibly _happy_ about it. I couldn't help but snort at Bekah's annoyance, sending her a wink when she met my eyes. I noticed that Elena was now dancing with Kol, and while at first glance they appeared hostile towards one another I could feel the sparks of attraction flying between them, which made me raise my brows in surprise; that would be an interesting development to Elena's already complicated love life. I saw that Klaus was dancing with Caroline and I smothered the slither of jealousy that flared up within me when I felt his boredom and disinterest as well as how uncomfortable Caroline felt.

The dance came to an end and after I thanked Elijah, I was about to make my way back to Nik when I noticed Elena acting rather suspiciously; she was glancing around nervously as if to make sure no one was watching her. I glanced around as well and saw that Stefan was busy talking with Caroline, while Damon was in the middle of what looked like a pissing contest with Kol. I took Kol's annoyance and replaced it with calm before I followed Elena up the grand staircase. She went to the same room that we had all been gathered in earlier and I could feel the dread growing in my gut as the door closed behind her. I stuck my foot in, preventing it from closing completely.

'You came alone. Wise choice,' Ester said, continuing when she notices Elena's worry, 'it's only sage, I've spelled it so we can speak freely without fear of being overheard. You must have a million questions for me Elena. Please.'

I wondered why I could still hear them if she was doing a spell specifically to keep out eavesdroppers; maybe it was because I had stopped the door from closing before she had completed it?

'How are you alive? Are you a ghost? Or...' Elena trailed off; I could hear and sense how nervous she was. I could also feel her guilt; she had met with Ester despite her promise not to.

'Not exactly. When I died the witch Ayana preserved my body with a spell. She was a close friend of mine, an ancestor of your friend Bonnie.' Ester explained, I could feel her impatience and knew it wouldn't be long before she got to the real reason as to why she had requested to meet with Elena; I had a feeling it wasn't to be generous and answer her questions for nothing in return.

'So that's why only Bonnie and her Mother could open up the casket.' Elena realized.

'They complete the Bennett bloodline. I drew power from them and their ancestors who were with me on the other side.' Ester said, her impatience growing a little.

'So you've been on the other side for a thousand years?' Elena sounded a little sympathetic, which I hated; she didn't deserve sympathy.

'Nature's way of punishing me for turning my family into vampires. But there is a way for me to undo the evil I created.' She started, trying and succeeding to gain Elena's interest.

'You're gonna help us kill Klaus, aren't you?' She asked, though she sounded uncertain and unwilling to have any part in it.

'One thing at a time Elena. For now, I simply need your help.' Ester murmured, almost too low for me to hear, before she continued, 'I understand Rebekah shared the story of my family. How I upset the balance of nature by turning my children into vampires.'

'She said you did it to protect them from the werewolves.'

'It's true. But in no time at all, they began to feed on human blood. They ravaged the town with no remorse. Eventually, Niklaus turned against me.' She carefully laced sorrow into her tone, but all I could feel was disgust when she mentioned Klaus' name, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from contrasting her words; Klaus didn't turn against him she turned him against her.

'How are you gonna kill him? He's immortal.' Elena inquired.

'It will take time, magic, and your assistance.' Ester said.

'What about Kim? If Mikael knew about her and Klaus then I'm sure you do too, what he said about what would happen if one of them has to live without the other. As well as the fact that their pain is linked, if you kill Klaus, you'll kill my sister.' I felt Elena's anger and it gave me hope that she was going to remove herself from having any part in this.

'Kim and Niklaus' relationship is rare; they are mates, destined to be together, and yes if one is forced to live without the other then it is said to be like walking the earth without half of your heart. But I can assure you, Kimberly will not have to live without Niklaus, because she will die with him; their pain is linked, yes, but due to the strength of their bond, any wound either suffers the other suffers to the same extent.' Ester said, her voice eerily calm as she told Elena that she basically planned on killing me.

'So if you kill Klaus…' Elena trailed off, horrified.

'Kimberly will die too,' she confirmed.

'Why would you think I would help you kill my sister?' She demanded.

'Because of what she will become; if Klaus is to turn her she will come back with the power of an Original, which will make her one of the most powerful supernatural creatures that has ever existed. Even more powerful than Niklaus. Now can you imagine how powerful, how unstoppable they would be together? The best thing you can do for mankind, Elena, is to let Kimberly die with Niklaus and the rest of my children.' Ester's voice was final and left no room for argument.

'The rest of your children?' Elena asked, confused.

'Yes, with your assistance I can stop them all, I can rid the world of the abominations I created,' Ester said simply, making my anger rise even more.

'What do I have to do with it?' Elena inquired, I could feel her uneasiness and her desire to get away from the Original witch.

'My children believe I'm holding this ball to celebrate our reunion. But in truth I've gathered them together to perform a ritual. The first step requires blood from the doppelgänger. Only a drop. Its essence will be in the champagne toast later on this evening. Will you do it or shall I?' Ester sounded threatening, and as much as I wanted to try and get Elena out of the room I knew the best thing would be to let Ester believe her plan was working. Without listening to another word I quietly made my way back down stairs to where the rest of the guests were. My eyes scanned the room looking for a Mikaelson, any Mikaelson. I found Elijah first, leaning against the wall, I assumed waiting for my sister to come down so that he could question her but I grabbed his arm to gain his attention, catching him by surprise.

'I know what she's planning.' I whispered, low enough that no one else with supernatural hearing would be able to hear if they were to eavesdrop on our conversation.

He gestured for me to continue but I shook my head and grabbed his arm, dragging him forward, 'we need to find the others first.' He nodded in understanding and we sought out the rest of his siblings in a matter of minutes; we all gathered in the kitchen; using the constant clatter to assure no other supernatural beings would be able to hear the conversation if they tried.

'She's going to put Elena's blood in the champagne later tonight. If you all drink it you will be linked as one.' I said once I was sure we were safe from being overheard. We were gathered in a circle with me standing in between Nik and Elijah. I felt everyone stiffen at my words before I sensed the waves of betrayal and anger coming from each of them.

'Wonderful.' Kol muttered sarcastically.

I sent them all a wave of reassurance, happy when they calmed a little; I hated the betrayal that they were feeling was because of their own Mother wanting to kill them all. And she called them the abominations; the woman was pure psycho.

'Okay, so act normal and no one drink the champagne later on. We good with that?' I said looking to each of them as I waited for them to nod in agreement when they did I continued, 'good, now I'm going to get some air.' I patted Elijah's chest as I made my way past him, I went to let go of Nik's hand, not wanting to force him to come with me but when he continued to hold on I pulled him after me. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the cool air as it entered my lungs.

'What a day,' I murmured, resting my head on Klaus' shoulder as he pulled us to sit on a bench.

'My thoughts exactly,' Klaus muttered dryly.

My fingers were laced with his as they rested on his lap and I couldn't help but wonder how such a simple, innocent connection had the power to make me feel completely safe and content. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, feeling the most relaxed I had felt since he had left me that morning.

'What are you thinking about love?' Klaus asked, his voice curious.

'How safe you make me feel,' I told him honestly, lifting my head from his shoulder to rest my forehead against his, 'how _content_ you make me feel.'

'I understand completely, love,' Klaus said, his voice the softest I had ever heard it as his hand moved to caress the side of my face before his lips met mine and we shared a gentle kiss, the kind of kiss that made my heart melt as it surrendered itself to him completely. Reluctantly, he pulled away and I smiled as I wiped away the lipstick on his lips, he did the same for me; gently wiping away any smudges that strayed from my lips.

'We should go inside, it's almost time for the toast,' I whispered.

He stood without another word, pulling me up with the hand that was still linked with his, when we stepped into the room we were immediately each handed a glass full of pink bubbly liquid. Klaus and I shared a look before we turned to the source of crystal clinking to see Ester stood at the top of the staircase, holding her own glass.

'Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!' Ester said, her voice clear and calm as she cuts across the entire room. She lifts her glass and drinks; Nik and I lift our own glasses to our lips as we pretend to drink it, sharing an ironic look at her choice of words. Once the crowd had dispersed, Klaus turned to me, an excited glint in his eye.

'What?' I asked.

'I want to show you something.' He said, pulling me towards the grand staircase, for a moment I thought he was going to lead me to his bedroom but he kept going, stopping at the very last door at the end of the hallway. He opened it, flickered on the light before he gently closed the door behind us; my eyes took in the room, amazed. I felt his eyes on me as I looked over the paintings, absolutely blown away by their beauty.

'They're stunning,' I said, referring to the paintings.

Klaus smiled and led me over to a table that took up the entire wall, his hand pausing over a sketchbook; he was hesitating and I could feel his uncertainty. I was curious as to what he was nervous about showing me, but I didn't want him to feel uncertain about it; I sent him a wave of comfort, smiling softly when he met my eyes.

'You don't have to show me anything you don't want to.' I promised him.

That seemed to quell any hesitation he may have had as he handed the book to me. I squeezed his hand before letting him go so that I could flick through the pages, I blinked in surprise when I saw that the first picture was of me, the first time he had met me in his own body. I was sat at the bar in the Mystic Grill, my eyes closed with an empty glass in my hand; my face was one of pleasure as I savored the pleasant burn of the whisky as it made its way down my throat. The detail was incredible; my pajamas, my hair softly whisked around my shoulders, the interior of the bar; I was convinced if I watched it for long enough the image would come to life. I continued to look through the book and was shocked to find that it was _full_ of pictures of _me;_ multiple pictures of me sleeping, some I was in the car we had been travelling in, others I was lying on his bed, curled into his chest. Some sketches were ones that I wondered how he had remembered in such detail because I knew for a fact he hadn't been sketching me in the shop in Chicago as I lay on the long sofa, tired circles under my eyes as I balanced a Starbucks cup on my stomach. The most recent was his adaptation of the picture Bekah had taken of us as we stared at one another hungrily and affectionately. I looked up to him, tears in my eyes; I could feel his nervousness and I could tell he had taken my tears the wrong way.

'These are amazing,' I told him honestly, 'I didn't know you had such a good memory for detail.' I teased.

He smiled, 'it's easy to remember something so beautiful.' I blushed when I felt his honesty but otherwise remained silent, not knowing what to say to that.

'I'd imagine with this talent you have paintings in gallery's all over the world?' I asked, gently placing his sketchbook on the table before I wound my hands around his neck, softly playing with his hair.

'Yeah, um...actually one of my landscapes is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice. Have you been?' He asked somewhat modestly, a look I had never seen on him before.

'I've never really been anywhere, aside from the travelling we did when you kidnapped me.' I winked teasingly.

'I'll take you, wherever you want to go,' He smiled, his face an inch from mine as his hands rested on my lower back.

'If the drama ever calms in this town, I would love to see your artwork,' I told him honestly.

He grinned at me before he placed a soft kiss on my lips before he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine again. But I wanted more, so I moved my lips back to his, my hands tangling in his hair to keep his mouth on mine; I felt his brief surprise before he collected himself and kissed me back, growling when I bit his lip, silently asking for him to deepen the kiss. This time I pulled away, knowing where we would end up if we continued, we stared at one another the hunger and lust clear in our darkened gazes.

'Stay with me tonight?' I asked him.

He grinned and leaned down, gripping my ass and lifting me; I wasted no time in wrapping my legs around his waist as I buried my head in the crook of his neck, knowing what he was going to do. I felt the soft breeze ruffling my hair as he flashed us back to my house; I opened my eyes when I felt Klaus kiss my hair. I pulled back from his neck, seeing that we were in my bedroom, I brought my mouth to his, hungrily pulling at his clothes as I felt him pulling the zip down on my dress. He set me down for a moment so that I could step out of it and he could remove his own clothes down to his boxers before I was against him again. I gasped against his mouth when the cold sheets made contact with my skin as he laid me down on the bed, giving him the perfect opportunity to invade my mouth with his expert tongue, making me moan in pleasure as he dominated the kiss, as he always did. Seeing as we were both hungry for one another he wasted no time in _ripping_ my strapless bra and underwear from my body, the action making me gasp in excitement as I waited for him to rid himself of his own underwear. He didn't keep me waiting long as he filled me in one swift move not a moment later, us both groaning at the feel of one another, before we moved together, as one. Our hips met one another's thrust for thrust as we both travelled towards the end together; once we were close Klaus leaned forward and sunk his human teeth over my mark, and that was all it took for me to fall over the edge, moaning his name as he continued to nip and suck at my neck. I dragged my nails down his back, breaking the skin as I ignored the stinging on my own back, as he reached his climax with a satisfied growl. He placed a soft kiss behind my ear before he pulled out of me gently, lying on his back and pulling me against his chest, holding me tightly against him. I inhaled, feeling incredibly relaxed and I knew it wouldn't be long before I was fast asleep. The last thing I registered was Klaus pulling the sheets over us both and softly kissing my hair as he removed the pins gently before I was out.

 **There's chapter twenty! I know this one was particularly long but I had so much to fit in! I loved writing this chapter; I think here it becomes particularly evident how comfortable Klaus and Kim are becoming with one another & also we see her relationship with Kol grow, which I did enjoy writing. Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to elljayde, horselover1996 and XxFangyxX for choosing to follow or favorite my story, it means a lot :)**

 _ **Kleekeaton: Seriously I love Kim and Klaus. I love how you've imagined her as a character. So strong on her own! Please update soon!**_ **Thank you so much, I love them together as well, and I figured if she was going to be Klaus' mate she'd need to be pretty tough, I'm glad you think so. Hope you enjoyed the update :)**

 _ **Elljayde: Really like this story. I hope that if you decide to introduce the baby plot its Kim's baby. Non HayleyxKlaus, that would just be wrong now considering they've completed the bond. Update soon.**_ **Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it and I haven't decided if I'm going to introduce the baby plot yet, but if I do it will be Kim's baby, don't you worry. I'm not sure if I'm even going to bring Hayley in, seeing as Klaus and Kim are together, I might just keep Caroline and Tyler together. We'll see, I'm not sure yet ;) Hope you enjoyed the update :)**


	21. All My Children

Chapter Twenty-One 

Klaus' P.O.V

I glanced down at her sleeping form when she made a sound of discomfort; I noticed that her expression looked troubled which made me frown in concern. I placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled her slightly tighter, pleased when her worry disappeared and she looked perfectly peaceful. I glanced to the clock on the nightstand in her room, noting that it was nearing eleven in the morning; I could probably get away with waking her soon. I took full advantage of being able to observe her before she woke up; I felt myself committing every detail to memory, my fingers itching to commemorate the moment on paper. I had countless images of her sleeping, yet I never tired of drawing her sleeping form; her beauty was exquisite, unique and it deserved to be treated as such. My fingers lightly traced over the mark on the left side of her neck, I smiled when she squirmed in her sleep as if she knew what I was doing.

When I thought about how much I cared for the woman in my arms a part of me was quick to express the disadvantage of having someone who could be used against me. But I was used to that paranoid voice that always remained in the back of my mind; whenever Kim was near, it seemed to shut up, the silence offering me a semblance of calm that only her presence could offer me. She didn't make me feel weak, she made me feel strong; she constantly reminded me of how resilient I actually was and I felt the damage that Ester and Mikael had done to my self esteem over the years ebb away a little more every time she did.

We had both accepted that we were essentially made for one another at some point; I honestly couldn't remember when, and despite her literally being my destined partner I found myself blown away by how much she seemed to care for me. She had seen me at my worst, I had done horrible things to her family, her friends, to _her_ and yet the way she looked at me never changed. I wondered if the mate bond had anything to do with it, yet I knew it didn't; she was an unbelievable person who could empathise with the worst of people, even me.

It was incredible how easily she fit into my life, how she fit into my family as if she had always been there. The way she looked out for us, last night at the ball being one of a few examples; she did it without thought as if we were family and it was her instinct to look out for all of us as such. I knew she was aware that each of my siblings and myself thought of her as a member of the family, but I don't think she fully understood how much each and everyone of us cared for her; even Finn, the Mikaelson she had the least contact with seemed to have a soft spot for her; she had made an impression on each and every one of us and we all loved her. Bekah had the sister she had always wanted, and my brothers had gained another sister, one that they admired and felt protective of, and I… I had found my mate, my other half, my confidant, something I hadn't believed in until her. I heard the front door open and assumed it was Elena; I idly wondered why she was only just getting home and deduced that she had wanted to put off seeing her sister for as long as possible seeing as she had participated in Mother's attempt to link us last night while knowing the consequences her own sister would suffer.

I heard the footsteps coming quickly up the stairs and before I had any time to wonder if she was going to pay her sister a wake up call, Kim's bedroom door burst open, revealing Elena who was still dressed in her ball gown from the night before. I smirked at her in amusement as I assumed that she was returning from exuberant activities from the night before. It was amusing to watch the emotions play out on her face; she looked shocked, surprised, embarrassed and she finally settled on bashful as she lifted her hand to her eyes to block out the scene. I assumed it was for her benefit seeing as, though we were both naked, we were fully covered by the duvet, except for my bare chest and Kim's bare shoulders; I was sat up, leaning against the headboard with Kim's head nestled into the crook of my neck, our legs tangled together, as I held her to me with my hands around her waist.

'Sorry- I- I was just,' Elena stuttered, struggling to form a coherent sentence.

'Is there something you need?' I asked, smirking in amusement.

'I need to talk to Kim, you too actually,' she said, lowering her mind and meeting my eyes as panic took over her expression.

I had a feeling I knew what this was going to be about, but I didn't want to interfere in Kim's business with her sister; I knew she could handle herself and though I would never admit it aloud, her instincts were better than mine, 'all right, I'll wake her up and we'll meet you down stairs.' I informed her, my tone leaving no room for argument.

She nodded and left the room without another word, closing the door gently behind her. Once I heard that she had moved a safe distance away, I turned to the sleeping beauty in my arms, wondering how I should wake her up. I smiled devilishly as I leaned forward and gently kissed her mark, my human teeth coming forward and softly biting into her skin. I smirked when I she moaned, her hand coming to tangle in my hair to keep my face in the crook of her neck. I felt her heart beat speed up and knew she was awake; I nipped her neck once more before my teeth playfully tugged at the soft skin of her earlobe.

'Morning, love,' I whispered, purposefully blowing hot air onto her neck; I smirked when I saw the goose bumps rise on her skin. I pulled back and kissed her forehead, enjoying the way that her fragrance invaded my senses, 'your sister wants to see us, love.'

She sleepily frowned at me as she seemed to try and blink herself awake; I smiled at how adorable she looked, 'what?' She asked.

'Elena wants to see us,' I told her again, grinning in amusement that I had to repeat myself; her love of sleep and her reluctance to come out of slumber constantly entertained me.

'Lena?' She murmured, her eyes drooping as she nuzzled into my chest, 'Lena wants to see…' She trailed off, her breathing close to evening out making me chuckle.

'Love, you need to get up,' I crooned, moving the duvet off her coping the cold would encourage her to get up, but she just gripped me tighter; apparently I was her own personal heat blanket. I shook my head in amusement and stood, pulling her with me.

'Noooo.' She groaned against my chest, but she did put her feet to the floor, standing on her own.

'Come on, love. Your sister looked pretty panicked,' I said, stroking her hair, smiling softly when she leaned into my touch.

'You're right.' She said; I assumed that she had sensed Elena's worry as she quickly, but reluctantly pulled back from my touch to get dressed. She offered me one of the shirts that she kept under her pillow, after she made me promise to return it, and a pair of my jeans that she still had in the duffel she had carried with her over the summer, seeing as I didn't want to dress back into my tux. She dressed in some black shorts and a pink vest top; her clothing was always fitted which was both a blessing and a curse; I took delight in admiring her beauty, but it proved to be distracting at the most inopportune times. Once we were ready she took my hand with a smile and led me down stairs where her sister was waiting. I for one was interested in what she had to say.

Kim's P.O.V

When I felt Elena's panic coming from down stairs I gave up the fight of trying to stay in bed; my sister needed me. Though I felt a little betrayed over her part in Ester's plan, I had a feeling that her participation hadn't been willingly, so I wasn't going to make any assumptions until I had spoken to her. My hand entwined with Klaus', as I led us both down stairs, stopping in surprise when I noticed the Original siblings sat in the living room with Elena sat next to Kol. I noticed the attraction they were both feeling toward each other, though Elena was trying her hardest to remain indifferent.

'Bestie! Nice of you to finally join us!' Kol said brightly, jumping up from his seat to give me a hug, I smiled at his eagerness and returned it with one hand, seeing as my other was entwined with Nik's.

'How long have you guys been here?' I asked once Kol had released me and returned to his seat.

'Not long.' Finn assured me, smiling politely, I returned it before I made my way into the sitting room. There was only one seat available and it was one of the armchairs, I was about to offer it to Nik when he sat down and pulled me onto his lap in one swift movement. I felt everyone's surprise, probably not used to seeing him show affection, but I ignored it as I made myself comfortable in his arms.

'Okay, so what's happening?' I asked, looking over to Elena, sending her a comforting wave to quell her concern.

'Last night, I did something stupid,' Elena started, not meeting my eyes.

'You went to see Ester even though I told you it was a bad idea,' I filled in for her, my tone calm.

'I did,' she nodded, 'I guess I was curious as to what she wanted from me, when I found out, I tried to leave but she wouldn't let me. She took my blood for the toast and then trapped me in the room until morning.'

'She didn't hurt you did she?' I asked, though I already knew the answer; physically she was fine but emotionally she was racked with guilt.

'No, but last night she linked you together as one,' she said, concerned.

I shared a look with all of the Originals before I turned back to her, my eyes dancing with amusement, 'did she?' I asked.

Kol, Nik and Bekah chuckled in amusement, while Finn and Elijah's lips twitched to show their humour. Elena's eyes flickered in between all of us in confusion.

'What am I missing?' She asked.

'Can we actually be linked as one if we didn't drink the champagne, darling?' Kol asked, his eyes dancing with amusement as he met Elena's eyes.

'You didn't drink the champagne?' She said, relieved.

'No, Elena we didn't.' I could feel Nik's amusement as he answered.

'How did you know?' Elena asked.

Everyone's eyes turned to me and I just shrugged sheepishly, 'I may or may not have been eavesdropping.'

'That doesn't surprise me,' Elena laughed.

'I left when she mentioned using your blood in the champagne to warn everyone; I knew she wasn't going to hurt you but I had no idea that she was planning on keeping you there. I'm sorry,' I said actually feeling a little guilty.

'It's fine, she didn't hurt me, and she only kept me there because she knew I was going to try and stop it from happening.' She replied, and I inwardly sighed in relief when I felt her honesty.

'While we have avoided Ester's original threat, we must assume she will know that we have evaded her attempt if she doesn't already.' Elijah said, his tone calm, though I could feel his concern.

'I say we rip her heart from her chest again,' Nik said, his frustration with his Mother evident.

I snorted before I replied, 'what's to say she won't just come back? She has a connection to a hundreds of witches who all want you dead.'

'There has to be something we can do, I refuse to just sit around and wait for Mother to make her next move,' Bekah said, her tone annoyed, though I could feel her hurt over their Mother's betrayal; I sent her a wave of comfort.

'Bekah's right, there has to be a way we can stop her,' I agreed.

'Could we just seal her back in the coffin?' Elena suggested.

'No, since she has been released her connection with the spirits has been relinquished, meaning trapping her with magic will not work,' Finn said, his eyes troubled, I sent him a wave of reassurance, returning his grateful smile when he looked to me.

'If the Bennett witches bought her back that means she's drawing power from their bloodline. Break the bloodline she looses the power keeping her alive.' Kol said confidently.

'So that's the plan? How do we break the bloodline?' Elena asked, her tone uncertain.

'You don't mean…' I trailed off, the ball of dread in my gut confirming my theory.

'We'll have to kill one of them.' Nik said, squeezing my waist in an attempt to offer comfort.

Elena and I shared a look of dread- there had to be another way, but at the same time I knew there wasn't.

'What do we do?' Elena asked, sounding vulnerable.

'I- I need some air.' I muttered, standing from Nik's lap and making my way out the front door, closing it gently behind me. I sat on the porch swing, rocking gently back and forth, deeply inhaling as I tried to control my emotions. What was I supposed to do? Ester needed to be stopped, and I was sure that terminating her connection to the Bennet line was the only way to do that, but that meant _killing_ Bonnie or her Mom. Both of them were innocent, they didn't deserve to lose each other. But the Mikaelson's didn't deserve to die because their Mother had decided that they were an abomination either. It wasn't like I could just ask one of them to die for us and expect them to be willing. I hadn't realised that someone had come to sit beside me until I felt the porch swing slightly dip to accommodate for their weight. I didn't look over, I could feel their worry, but I couldn't bear to see it.

'I know that there's no other way but I just feel guilty. She's the one who's psychotic enough to want to kill her own children and Bonnie has to lose her _Mother_ in order for us to stop her. It's not fair,' I whispered, too low for human ears to hear, but I knew the person next to me could understand just fine.

'Indeed it is. I can assure you if there was another way we would take it.' Elijah said, his voice as calm and collected as ever, though the underlying concern was evident.

'I know.' I said, giving him a soft smile to assure him that I believed him.

We sat in comfortable silence for a little while, until the door opened and Nik stepped out; I felt his worry immediately and sent him a comforting wave and a soft smile in response. Elijah stood and left us alone, Nik sitting in his abandoned seat, his arm going around my shoulders and pulling me to his chest; my ass sitting on one side of his thighs and my feet on the other. The calmness he bought over my body seemed to bring forward the tears I had been fighting to hold back and I rested my forehead against his shoulder as I let them silently fall down my cheeks. His hand moved up and down my spine comfortingly as he kissed my hair. I could feel how unsure he was right now; he didn't know what to do or how to make me feel better, but he was doing all he could do and I was grateful.

The tears stopped falling, but Nik's grip on me didn't loosen and I leaned up and pressed a soft kiss on his pulse point in thanks before I wiped the tears wetness from my cheeks, pulling back from his shoulder.

'So, what's the plan?' I asked, my voice raspy as I tried to keep the emotion from my voice.

Nik eyed me with worry shining in his gaze before he answered me; ' Elena's texting Bonnie to see where they are and then we're going to head over there.'

I nodded; dread growing in my gut as I thought about what was going to happen, 'something's going to go wrong.' I could feel it.

We joined the others back in the house, sitting where we had been sat before; I noticed Kol's hand on Elena's thigh in a comforting gesture. I made a mental note to bring that up later, when things weren't such a mess. I met Elena's eyes and I could feel how heartbroken she was, but I could also sense that she had made up her mind; she was going to help break the line… because of me.

'Elena…' I started but I didn't know what to say.

'It's okay.' Her smile was watery but soft.

It wasn't. Nothing about this was _okay._ Bonnie was her best friend, by doing this she was going to lose her, and I wasn't okay with that. I wished I could find another way where in which no one but Ester had to die, but I knew that wasn't possible. Elena received a text from Bonnie saying that her and her Mother were preparing for the spell Ester planned to preform later at the witches burial ground; apparently Ester knew that the linking spell didn't work and she was going to call onto the spirits for the power to destroy them one by one, with Bonnie and her Mom's help.

Nik suggested that we needed to get there before Ester, as if they even started the spell, we were screwed. The plan was to make an appearance in town encase she had people watching us; the last thing we needed was for her to know we were on to her. We decided to go to the Grill for a few hours and to leave for the witches' burial ground at around six, leaving us plenty of time to initiate the plan. Once we were all satisfied with what we had to do, we left, heading for the Grill. Nik refused to stray far from me, keeping his hand firmly laced with mine as we made our entrance; it was like the scene in a movie, as we walked in all eyes turned to stare at the group. Normally I would feel uncomfortable with the attention but in that moment I was starting to feel numb. We took a large booth; I had to sit on Nik's lap again to make room for everyone, not that I minded. Bekah sat next to Nik with Finn on Bekah's other side, while Elena sat across from me and Nik, with Kol next to her and Elijah on the other side of Kol.

'I vote for shots,' I said, absentmindedly running one of my hands through Nik's hair while the other rested on his chest.

'I second that,' Elena muttered, making a fist and resting her chin on it.

'Here, here,' Kol said loudly, drawing even more attention to us.

'Hush Kol, it would be nice if there were a few people who _weren't_ staring at us,' Bekah hissed making me chuckle.

'Don't bother, Bekah he likes the attention,' I winked at Kol, we all laughed when he looked affronted.

'Don't try to deny it, little brother,' Nik smirked.

'Here we go. I have no idea what it is, I asked for shots and this is what they gave me,' Finn said, placing a tray of what looked like about twenty shots on the table.

'Bloody hell Finn,' Bekah shook her head in amusement.

'Good man, Finn' I picked up one of the glasses, toasting with Kol before we both knocked them back.

'What on earth _is_ that,' Kol exclaimed, pulling a face as the vodka made its way down his throat; everyone chuckled at his expression; he looked like he was sucking on a lemon.

'That, bestie is vodka, be careful it has a bit of a kick to it,' I muttered, reached for another shot, motioning for everyone to do the same.

'To family,' Elijah said.

'To family,' we all repeated, swallowing the shots in one.

After our third shot Elena and I were starting to feel the affects just a _little,_ much to everyone else's amusement. I frowned over at Kol who was making no move to hide his laughter at the both of us as I pointed to him threateningly, or at least I thought I did, but he just laughed harder.

'Oi, you!' I said, my words slurring.

'Yes darling?' Kol asked, grinning.

'What are you laughing at?' I asked curiously, I went to rest my head on my hand but I ended up missing and nearly face planting the table.

'Easy, love,' Nik said, amused, his voice drawing my attention back to him as I smiled dopily at him.

'I like it when you call me love,' I said, my hand running through his hair again.

'Uh oh.' Elena said across from me.

'What's the matter, darling?' Kol asked, curious.

'She's at the drunken honesty stage,' Elena said, amused, 'she only gets like this on vodka for whatever reason.'

'Really? We could definitely have some fun with this,' Kol said, his eyes gleaming as he rubbed his hands together mischievously.

I just stared at him blankly before I said, 'you know I reckon you and my sister would make a cute couple.'

Elena and Kol looked at me both shocked and embarrassed, before they could respond, Bekah cut in, 'where did that come from?'

'I can feel the attraction they have for each other.' I said by way of explanation, 'I think they would be good together.'

Elena and Kol refused to make eye contact but I noticed all of the other siblings looking at them closely as they tried to see the attraction that I sensed.

'Anyway, each of us gets to ask her a question each.' Kol said once he recovered himself, and from the looks of his expression he was going to make me pay for my confession.

'Okay. I'm good at answering questions.' I whispered to Nik as if it was a secret, my tone a matter of fact as I sipped on the glass of whiskey he had ordered for himself.

'I'm sure you are, love,' Nik smirked; I placed a kiss onto his lips before I turned to the rest of the table.

'Who goes first?' I asked.

'I will,' Elena started, also looking like she was out for revenge, 'how old were you when you lost your virginity?'

'Twenty.' I answered honestly, looking to Kol as I waited for his question and ignoring everyone else's surprise.

'Who's been the best partner you've had in the bedroom?' Kol asked.

'Hmmm...' I rubbed my chin, pretending to have to think really hard about it enjoying everyone's amusement before I put Klaus out of his misery and answered, 'Nik' running my hand through his hair as I did so. I looked to Elijah, I smiled when I felt how uncomfortable he was, 'you don't have to ask me anything, Lijah.'

'He does, that's the rules!' Kol insisted.

'Okay fine, but just because the past two questions have been sex related doesn't mean yours has to be.' I muttered taking another sip of Klaus' whiskey before I handed it back to him.

'What was your first impression of me?' He asked playing it safe.

'Polite, calm, collected. Overall, a really chill guy.' I answered immediately.

Everyone chuckled at my analysis; Elijah even released a light laugh and I wondered if the alcohol was what had made him relax a little.

'Finn?' Kol prompted, but Finn declined, telling Kol he could ask a question on his behalf.

'Of course, brother,' Kol grinned, laughing lightly when I groaned, 'the weirdest place you've ever had sex?'

I feel Nik tense as he tried not to laugh, already knowing my answer; 'a bar's bathroom.'

I noticed Elena's surprise and Bekah's open jaw as Kol went to elaborate but I hold up my hand, silencing him, 'you had your question, your turn Bekah.'

'How do you feel about us?' She asked, her expression carefully curious but I could feel her vulnerability.

'I love you all like my own family.' I answered honestly, returning their soft smiles with one of my own as I met all of their gazes.

'Nik, yours is the last question; make it a good one' Kol said, drumming his hands on the table in his excitement.

I rested my forehead against his, staring into his amused eyes while I waited for his question. He stared back at me and I could tell he was putting a lot of thought into what he was going to ask me, which I found amusing. I felt Bekah shift beside us and didn't think anything of it until I heard the click of a camera.

'Bekah!' I said, more amused than annoyed, as I looked over to her in question.

'I couldn't help it, it was perfect!' She defended.

I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face, but otherwise didn't respond, I looked back to Nik while Bekah showed everyone at the table the pictures she had accumulated of Nik and me.

'Why don't you hate me? After everything I've done to you, your family and your friends you should hate me,' Klaus asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

I felt my face soften as I brought my hand up to caress the side of his face, my thumb running back and forth comfortingly, 'because everything you have done; your desire to break the curse, to make more hybrids… all of it. It was impossible to hate you when a part of me understood _why_ you were doing it. Granted, if Elijah hadn't found a way to save Elena after the sacrifice and if you'd used Caroline and Tyler… it would have taken me a long time to forgive you for that.'

'You are the most incredible person I have ever known,' he told me; I could sense his honesty as he stared at me with a blown away look on his face.

I felt myself flush at the compliment before I placed a soft kiss on his lips, which he returned before he pulled away. After a while, Elena suggested that we play darts. We split into two teams, me, Elijah and Bekah against Nik, Elena, Kol and Finn. Seeing as Finn had no idea what darts was, we were pretty evenly matched, though I didn't doubt that he would catch on fast. Kol kept putting a drink in my hand to mess with my game, though I realised this too late, too late meaning I accidentally threw a dart into Elijah's thigh when he was standing _behind_ me. My mouth dropped open in shock and embarrassment as Elijah pulled the dart out with an amused twitch of his lips and handed it back to me after wiping it on a handkerchief he had in his suit pocket. I murmured an apology, ignoring the howls of laughter that were coming from everyone else around me. After that I rejected the alcohol Kol sent my way, favouring water instead, my game improving the faster I sobered up. Which of course led to Kol employing a new tactic to distract me; by having Nik drive me crazy with soft touches and brief pecks right before I was due to take my turn. I felt Nik's smugness grow every time I missed the board due to his interference, so I decided to instigate some revenge. The first time I squeezed his toned ass right before he was about to release the dart he meant to throw, the action caught him off guard and actually made him jump, his dart embedding itself into the wall rather than the board. I grinned devilishly and continued to taunt him, placing kisses behind his ear, running my nails over the mark on his shoulder; though he continued to taunt me as well. Meaning that mine and Nik's scores were the worst in each group, not that we cared. Eventually the game ended, and by some miracle, my team won; I gave Bekah and Elijah each a high five, complimenting them on their incredible dart skills since it was basically them who had won us the game; I had _sucked._

We had just settled back into the booth, noting that it was five in the afternoon, when trouble walked through the door in the form of the Salvatore brothers. I noticed them immediately due to the icy ball that seemed to form in my gut as soon as they walked through the doors, but the others remained oblivious. My eyes remained on Kol and Elena as they joked back and forth, becoming more and more comfortable with each other, but I focused on Stefan and Damon and I could feel their regret as they looked over to the table. That was when I knew; they had either already done something or they were about to. I pulled out my phone and typed out a text, showing the screen to Nik, being sure to be causal.

 _The Salvatore brothers are going to do something to mess with the plan._

Nik's eyes met mine after he had read my message and we seemed to be able to communicate whole sentences in those few brief moments of eye contact.

 _What should we do?_ I asked.

 _We'll continue with the plan, but proceed with caution._ Nik replied.

I nodded in agreement, breaking our eye contact as I looked back to everyone else seated at the table, only to see they were already staring at us. Nik and I shared a confused look before we looked to the others expectantly.

'How did you do that?' Elena asked, amazed.

'Do what?' Nik asked before I could.

'You two looked like you were having a conversation without saying a word.' Elijah said, seemingly curious himself.

We shared another look before I shrugged, taking a sip if my diet coke. I offered it to Nik and he took a sip before he placed it back on the table. Before anything more could be said, Damon and Stefan stopped at the end of our table, causing all eyes to turn to them.

'All right?' I asked by way of greeting, keeping the suspicion from my tone.

'Well aren't you guys _cute,_ playing happy families, it's almost adorable.' Damon's tone was dangerously sarcastic.

'Not almost adorable,' I disagreed, continuing when is smirk seemed to drop, 'we are _completely_ adorable. Duh.'

Damon rolled his eyes, his expression darkening as his eyes skimmed over Elena, and I knew he was going to say something that was going to piss people off as well as potentially hurt my sister.

'Damon I suggest you stop with whatever sarcastic comment you are about to make.' I said, my tone one of warning.

By some miracle he actually listened and turned to walk away, Stefan gave a sad, regretful smile, his eyes lingering on me before he followed his brother out of the Grill. I had a feeling that whatever they were going to do involved me and whatever it was, wasn't good. At five thirty we decided we should get moving and Elena and I shared a sad look before we slid out of the booth to follow them. I asked them to wait for a moment while I used the bathroom; I finished quickly and I was washing my hands in the sink when I looked up and saw Stefan and Damon in the reflection in the mirror over the sinks. I could feel their sorrow and regret more than ever and it was the last thing I registered before I blacked out.

I was hot, incredibly, uncomfortably hot. I sat up with a groan, my hand going to the back of my head as it throbbed. I noticed I was in a circle of fire, much like I had been the night of the ritual; I looked around and noticed we were at the old witches burial ground. I was alone in the circle but I knew that I was more than likely sealed in so any attempt at escape would be futile. I went to pull my phone out of my back pocket only to remember it was still at home on my bedside table. I glanced at my watch and noticed it was almost six, so I hadn't been unconscious for too long; I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. I could feel Klaus' concern and I knew that they were well aware I had been taken and by who. I just didn't understand why; she wanted to kill her children, but what did I have to do with it? As if she had heard my question, Ester suddenly stepped forward, joining me in the circle.

'What the hell am I doing here?' I asked bluntly.

'Your connection to Niklaus is rather useful, Kimberly.' She said vaguely.

'Meaning…?' I said, irritated.

'Meaning that when the moon reaches it's full power I will have the magic from the Bennett line that will allow me to link my children without me needing to use the blood of a doppelgänger, and once I have done so I am going to kill you.'

I felt the horror grow on my face; 'whatever happens to me will happen to Klaus and if they're linked…' I trailed off.

'They'll all die.' She smiled coldly.

I bit my lip, schooling my expression to one of worry as I focused on what was actually going to happen; I was careful to keep the relief from my face when the ball of dread that grew in my gut when something bad was going to happen stayed away. They were going to be okay. Klaus was going to be okay. But she didn't need to know that.

'Why are you doing this?' I carefully laced panic and sorrow into my tone.

'Because my children are abominations, and I defied nature when I created them, they must die to restore the balance,' her voice was firm and almost robotic.

'If your children were such abominations I'm sure that nature would have restored the balance a thousand years ago as soon as you had created them.' I said, anger dripping into my tone now, 'as far as I am concerned you're the abomination. What kind of Mother wants to kill her own _children_?'

Her stare turned icy, yet she didn't respond; I could feel a twinge of guilt coming from her but it was squelched by the obligation she felt to go through with her plan. I sat back on the floor, crossing my legs as I tried my hardest to look like I was struggling to remain calm. I knew the moment that Nik was near; the pulling in my heart activated as soon as he stepped into the clearing.

'Mother, let her go before I rip your heart from your chest again,' Nik threatened, absolutely furious, though I could feel the concern he was carefully hiding.

I noticed that Finn and Elena were gone and figured that they had gone to break the Bennett connection.

'For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you. You're a curse on this Earth. Stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your life, I'm sorry, you've wasted your time.' Ester said, her voice final.

I could feel Kol, Bekah and Elijah all tense in fear at her words and I took it, replacing it with calm. Nik was watching me carefully, trying to catch my eye, when he did I gave him a reassuring look which he read immediately; he kept the anger in his expression but I could feel his relief.

'At least let her go Mother, she is innocent,' Bekah said, her tone pleading as she looked to me.

'You claim to want to do this in order to save the lives of the innocent, Mother. It would be highly hypocritical if you were to kill one of them yourself.' Kol chipped in.

My heart warmed as they tried to convince her to let me go, but I knew she wouldn't.

'She may be innocent now, but I am saving the world for what she has the potential to become. When she is turned she will become the most powerful being on the planet, with Niklaus by her side they will be unstoppable.' Her eyes looked over to me, full of complete disgust, 'the kindest thing I can do is put a stop to it before it has begun.'

'I am so sick of hearing that. You're all just a bunch of drama queens you witches I swear,' I muttered, exasperated.

Ester glared at me, but made no move to comment, I shared a look with Klaus as we both rolled our eyes; I was pretty sure we were both sick of hearing this by now. Elijah opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off when Ester suddenly started to cry out, defeated.

'No, sisters do not abandon me!' She yelled, her voice desperate, the circle's flames grew higher before they fizzled out completely. I looked over to the Mikaelson's in front of me and went to move over to them but before I could Ester made a move to attack me, holding a knife firmly against my throat.

'I may have lost my connection to the sisters to allow me to kill you, but I can still put a stop to another abomination,' she said, I felt her arm tense as she readied herself to slit my throat, before I could even focus to see if I was actually going to die, the knife suddenly fell away. I turned around and saw Finn standing behind his Mother's dead body, her heart in his hand. I met his eyes and I could feel the shock on my face, 'thank you,' I whispered.

He smiled softly but otherwise didn't comment; before I could have another coherent thought, the Mikaelson's and Elena suddenly surrounded me as they hugged me tightly. I laughed in surprise but I could feel the love for them all exploding out of my chest. After everyone had squeezed me half to death we pulled apart; I stood next to Nik, my head resting on his shoulder as my arm wrapped around his waist.

'You scared us half to bloody death,' Rebekah muttered.

'I'm sorry,' I muttered, amused.

'How did she get you anyway?' Kol asked.

'Stefan and Damon cornered me in the bathroom, I don't really remember anything after that until I woke up here,' I answered honestly, sending a wave of comfort in Elena's direction when she stiffened at my words.

'No wonder they were acting so odd.' Elena muttered, sounding pissed as the waves of betrayal fell from her.

'I could feel that they didn't want to do it, if that helps. But personally they're on my shit list from now until further notice.' I murmured, completely serious.

'I don't care if they didn't _want_ to do it, they still did it.' Elena said and I swear I literally felt her heart cut ties with both of the brothers there and then; I supposed everything that had happened with them had finally added up and she had reached her breaking point. We shared a look, I silently told her that I understood and she gave me a look as if to say it was for the best and I was almost surprised when I felt that she genuinely meant it.

'Well they had better stay out of my path,' Klaus said, his voice dark.

'How's Bonnie?' I asked, already knowing the answer.

'How you would expect. She told me to leave and that she never wanted to see either of us again.' Elena kept her voice from breaking but I could feel her sadness. I reached over and pulled her to my chest, placing a comforting kiss on her temple, when she calmed she moved back from me and we all made the collective decision to go home.

Reluctantly, Nik and I decided to spend the night apart because I knew that my sister needed me. I hugged the other Original's goodbye at the witches' burial ground before Kol flashed Elena home while Nik flashed me back to the house. As soon as we came to a stop on the porch I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and smashed his lips to mine, moaning at the passion behind the kiss as we both spilled our fear and relief over the nights events into it. I gasped when Klaus slid his hands under the back of my shirt, his nails digging into the dip of my back as he pulled me tighter against him, providing him with the leverage he needed to deepen the kiss, his tongue dueling with mine. I released another moan when I felt him dominate the kiss, my hands hungrily tangling in his hair as if I wanted to keep him there. After a few more lingering kisses, we reluctantly pulled away, his forehead resting against mine as we both gathered our breath.

'Goodnight,' I whispered.

'Goodnight, love.' Klaus responded, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead before he turned and left, my heart hurting as I watched him go.

 **That's chapter twenty one! I hope you enjoyed it- let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to bluekat1997 for choosing to follow my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **Hayden: I read the all chapters and I love this more.**_ **Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.**

 _ **Elljayde: Good chapter. Hope Elena will stop the gang's attempts to kill Klaus now that she knows Kim would die. Looking forward to next update and hoping Ester gets more punishment than she did in the TV series.**_ **Thank you! I hope you liked Elena's part in this chapter! Personally I think just having her heard ripped from her chest is too kind, but she just needed to be gone.**

 _ **Reviewer only: Those power you say vamp Kim would have make me impatient for her turning…**_ **I know what you mean, I'm itching to turn her but I want the timing to be right haha, so for now we'll just have to wait :(**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: Amazing to see the relationship between Klaus and Kim grow, and the hole connection with the Mikaelsons :) Love it! Great work :)**_ **Thank you so much, I love writing the different relationships she has with each original and the ways they show that they care for her, I'm glad you're enjoying it too.**


	22. 1912

Chapter Twenty Two

I got up way before Elena the next day seeing as I hadn't slept a wink; I had Klaus' other shirt but for whatever reason it wasn't helping me sleep like it usually did. I wondered if it had something to do with us completing the bond, seeing as this was the first time we had slept apart since then. I glared at the sun rising, indicating that it was _six am._ After I'd had four cups of extra strong coffee I decided to clean the house, seeing as I couldn't think of anything else to do to keep myself busy. Once I was done, nearly two hours later, Elena came down stairs already dressed and muttering something about going for a run with Matt. I could feel her guilt over Bonnie and her anger towards Damon and Stefan; I went to send her a comforting wave but stopped myself, figuring that she was probably going for a run to work through her feelings anyway.

I showered and dressed in some black high waisted skinny jeans and one of the only jumpers I owned seeing as I wanted some comfort; it was blue and baggy and incredibly comfortable. After I was ready for the day I made my way back down stairs and was about to go and make something to eat when the doorbell rang. I opened it immediately, the familiar pull in my heart already telling me who it was. He looked just as tired as I did if the circles under his eyes were any indication, not wasting a moment I literally leaped into his arms; my hands going around his neck and my legs around his waist.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm but I could feel the same calmness wash over him that had enveloped me. I nuzzled my head deeper into his neck were I softly kissed over his mark, I felt him shiver and heard him growl. My head moved back, about to connect his lips to mine but before I could I could feel disgust coming from my right. I looked over and saw our old neighbour, Mrs Timbereli staring at us disapprovingly, when she saw me staring at her she forced a smile. I gave her a bright smile and happily said, 'morning, Mrs Timbereli!'

'Morning, girl.' She said, her voice laced with judgement.

I rolled my eyes at her about to make a comment that would probably get her shouting at me when Klaus walked into the house and kicked the door shut behind him.

'Wait for marriage!' I heard her shout just before the door closed.

I giggled at the shocked look on Klaus' face, but I was quickly silenced when he bought his lips to mine. I moaned into his mouth, my eyes rolling into the back of my head from the pleasure of the kiss; he gently bit my lip before his tongue invaded my mouth. I grinded my hips against his, smiling against his lips when he released a hungry growl, before I moved my hands to his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin. He flashed us to the kitchen, placing me on the counter as his hands moved to slip under my jumper as he caressed me gently, causing goose bumps to rise from the feel of it. My lips left his as I tried to get some air into my lungs, and his lips moved to my neck, nipping and sucking before his human teeth bit into my mark, forcing a deep moan from me. I didn't know what came over me in that moment, all I knew was that I wanted him, I had missed him.

Yes it had only been nine hours if that, but he was my mate, a part of me, and the longer he was away from me the more stir crazy I seemed to get and he appeared to feel the same way. So my hands went to his belt buckle while his moved to unbutton and unzip my jeans before he tore both my panties and jeans off in one swoop. Without wasting another moment, he was inside of me, my eyes once again rolling into the back of my head at the feel of him inside of me. Our hips moved against each other's passionately, desperately and frantically as we raced towards finding our release. Just before we were about to fall over the edge Klaus leaned towards my neck, his hybrid face coming forward as he sank his fangs into my mark and I moved to drink from his as it opened up in response. This was enough to bring us both to our climaxes in unison, my scream of pleasure being swallowed by his shoulder. I licked the left over blood from his shoulder as the wound healed when his fangs withdrew from my neck, pulling back and resting my forehead against his. I smiled when I saw that his eyes were still glowing the amber I found fascinating, my hand coming to gently trace the black veins under his eyes. He blinked in surprise, his eyes going back to their heavenly blue as he did, I playfully pouted while he just smirked. He gently pulled out of me and we dressed in comfortable silence.

'Good morning,' I grinned.

'Good morning, love,' he chuckled.

'You look exhausted.' I commented as we made our way to the living room sofa; I sat with my back to the arm and my feet on Klaus' lap.

'So do you.' He countered, frowning in confusion before he continued, 'I thought you said you had another one of my shirts spelled?'

'I did but for whatever reason it didn't work.' I muttered, running my hands through my hair as I stretched out my arms, 'do you think it has something to do with us completing our marks?'

'Maybe. Now that Mother has been dealt with we can focus on getting more information on what us being mates actually means.' Klaus said, his eyes drooping; I was having the same problem.

'We should probably get moving then, or we're both going to fall asleep,' I said, trying to keep my eyes open.

'Mmmm' Klaus responded, his breathing evening out a moment later, leaving me to stare at him in amazement. I was debating on whether I should wake him up or not when he leaned down, his back against the back of the sofa while he rested his head on my chest, his hands clinging me to him. I decided that a nap couldn't possibly hurt after that, and that was the last thing that registered for me as I ran my hands through Klaus' hair.

We awoke a few hours later, feeling much better after a little sleep. I noticed a missed call from Elena when I went to grab my phone as we were on our way out of the door and decided to call her back when we got to the mansion. Klaus lifted me into his arms, bridal style after I had locked the door and after we made sure my nosy neighbour wasn't still lurking, he flashed us to his house in seconds.

'Bestie! How are you feeling? Hung-over?' He smirked, throwing his arm around my shoulders as he walked with us further into the house.

'Hung-over?' I scoffed before I continued, 'I wasn't even drunk.'

Kol laughed loudly and Nik joined in, leaving me to look in between them with a look of confusion on my face.

'Darling, you were absolutely pissed!' Kol chortled.

'No, I wasn't.' I insisted.

'Do you not remember the game we played?' Kol asked, smirking.

'What game?' I froze as I tried to remember, but I came up blank; the only thing I remembered in the grill was the first few shots we took and Damon and Stefan kidnapping me from the Grill's bathroom. In between those two time frames I was drawing a blank.

'Your lovely sister Elena told us how truthful you got on vodka, so of course we had to test her theory,' He smirked mischievously.

'Oh no,' I groaned, hanging my head, 'was it bad?'

They only laughed in answer, which increased my dread considerably. I was screwed.

'Leave the girl alone you two,' Bekah said looking in between Nik and Kol as we entered the sitting room where she was sat crossed legged on the sofa with a book in her hands.

'Thank you, Bekah,' I winked at her causing her to laugh in response, when I saw her smile turn devilish I knew I was about to be triple teamed.

'Though you were pretty entertaining.' She admitted.

'Ugh. You're all so mean to me,' I muttered, dramatically throwing myself down onto the sofa, throwing my arm over my eyes, 'where are Finn and Elijah? They'll stick up for me.' I said confidently.

'Elijah's reading and Finn went out this morning to explore and hasn't come back yet. But don't worry, love, you didn't say anything _too_ embarrassing,' Nik assured me, though he sounded too amused for my liking.

'What _did_ I say?' I asked.

'Nothing much…' Kol waved his hand dismissively before continuing, 'just when you lost your virginity, the weirdest place you've had sex and your first impression of Elijah.'

'WHAT?' I shrieked, shooting up on the sofa, looking over to Kol, 'you're joking aren't you?'

'I think you know the answer to that already, love,' Nik chuckled as he stood next to Kol, both of them standing with their arms crossed wearing identical smirks.

'You know what? I'm not embarrassed,' I lied, crossing my arms over my chest jutting my chin out in defiance.

'Really?' Kol said, lifting a disbelieving eyebrow.

'Really.' I lied, nodding as if to give my answer conviction. I regretted it immediately, however, when Kol's eyes lit up in mischief and I knew he was going to do something that would make me want to kill him and crawl under a rock.

'So then you won't mind if I go shouting your answers through Town Square?' He challenged.

'I won't mind you shouting that if you don't mind me telling everyone how much you like Elena,' I winked at him, knowing I had him.

He glared at me as he pursed his lips in contemplation, 'you're bluffing.' He said.

'Am I?' I raised my brows in a challenging manner, 'is that I risk you're willing to take?'

I saw his shoulders slump in defeat, Bekah and Nik chuckling as they noticed it as well. I had won this round.

'Speaking of Elena,' I muttered, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I remembered I had missed a call from her earlier, 'I need to call her.'

'Why?' Kol sounded panicked.

'I missed a call from her earlier.' I said honestly, giving him a teasing wink as I pressed dial and held the phone to my ear, 'or did I?' I whispered. Kol glared at me and went to grab the phone from my hand but Nik held him back, assuring him that I just needed to talk to my sister.

'Kim?' Elena said.

'The one and only. What's up sis? Have you heard from Bonnie?' I asked, guilt pooling in my gut when I said her name.

'Matt did. Abby's going to complete the transition.' Elena confirmed, 'she's still refusing to speak to either of us, but Matt said she understands, she's not mad, just hurt.' Elena replied.

'That's understandable,' I mumbled, fighting the tears that wanted to escape.

'But that wasn't why I called; Ric's been arrested for the founders murders.'

'Oh okay, so your typical Saturday then?' I muttered sarcastically, 'do they have any evidence?'

'Apparently. Sherriff Forbes won't let anyone in to see him, but she did say that he thinks he's being framed by Meredith.' She answered.

'Is she going to look into it?' I asked.

'Yes, but I'm not sitting around waiting until then. I've just been to Meredith and she mentioned she's due in surgery so I'm going to search her place for anything suspicious.' Elena said.

'Don't tell me you're going _alone,_ Elena.' My voice was hard.

'I'll be fine.' She dismissed.

'What if she's the one killing the founders members? Are you seriously going to walk into a potential murderers house alone? Don't be stupid,' I warned.

'Kim-,' She started but I cut her off.

'I'll meet you. What's her address?' I asked, standing up and making a move to walk to the door but Nik grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, his eyes hard with warning. I just rolled my eyes as I waited for Elena to answer me.

'No it's fine, I was actually about to call someone when you called me. Besides I highly doubt Klaus would like you walking into a murderers house either.' She muttered, her voice teasing near the end, but she had no idea how right she was; Klaus raised his eyebrows as if to say, "she's right, you're not going anywhere."

'Who were you going to call?' I inquired.

She hesitated for so long that I actually thought she had hung up, but when I pulled the phone away from my ear to check, we were still connected.

'Kol.' She admitted.

I looked over to Kol who was still standing by Nik, smiling when I noticed his brows lifted in surprise.

'Really?' I said, my tone taking on a teasing lilt.

'Yes.' She sighed.

'Why? He's a vampire he won't be able to get in without an invitation.' I murmured, playing dumb.

'Kim, stop.' She warned.

'Okay, okay.' I laughed, leaning into Nik's side when he released my wrist, 'here I'll put him on for you.'

I passed the phone over to Kol and noted that his face lit up like a child on Christmas morning. He pressed the phone to his ear and was about to answer when he seemed to notice the other three people in the room for the first time, without a word he flashed away, making us all laugh.

'He better return my phone,' I muttered, still amused.

'I'm sure he will love. If he doesn't forget in his eagerness to meet Elena.' Nik's eyes were staring in the direction Kol had left, a thoughtful look on his face.

'It's nice to see Kol interested in a girl for something more than a meal.' Bekah commented from the sofa.

Nik hummed in agreement before he turned to me, 'I'm going to go and find Elijah to see if he's found anything.'

'Okay' I smiled, kissing his lips softly before he left. I went to sat next to Bekah on the couch as I threw my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me, 'we haven't had time for you to tell me about you know who.' I winked.

Her face brightened immediately before she turned to me, 'everything's going amazingly well so far. It's almost too good to be true.' She muttered.

'Do you want me to go and talk to him? If he has anything but good intentions, I will know.' I offered.

'It would be safer if you did, to be honest. Anyone else would just kill him.' She mumbled, referring to her brothers.

'They just want what's best for you, though they don't go about the best way of showing it. You'll find your forever, Bekah' I laughed.

'Easy for you to say you have what I have been searching for the past thousand years.' She said, seeming sad.

'I'm lucky,' I agreed before I continued, 'but you will find someone, Bekah because you deserve it more than anyone.' I squeezed her shoulders to heighten the reassurance I was sending towards her.

She stared at me for a long moment as if she was trying to determine the validity of my words, when she realised that I was being honest she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

'Anyway, I have to go. I'm supposed to be meeting Carol Lockwood at the Grill,' She muttered and as soon as she spoke I had a bad feeling.

'Why?'

'I was looking over the pictures Elena left me when she told me about Nik killing Mother and I saw some other drawings showing a surviving white oak tree. I'm going to find out what happened to it.' Bekah said, I could feel her concern and I took it replacing it with calm.

'Okay… be careful. If you need anything call me.' I said, hugging her tightly.

With a final parting smile she was gone, so I decided to see what was taking Nik and Elijah so long. I found them in the library, which was _huge_ by the way; both huddled over a book that was laid out on the table.

'Whatcha reading?' I asked, laughing when they both jerked in surprise, 'must be good if neither of you heard me coming.' I walked over to the table, leaning over to read as well.

'This is what I have found so far. It's rather informative,' Elijah commented.

 _The Legend of Mates_

 _Mates are widely known throughout the supernatural community for their rarity and their strength when united as one. It is common for a supernatural being to find a human as a mate, though to solidify their bond they would be expected to turn them. This is due to the extreme dangers that can and will arise if they were to stay human. For example, as soon as the mates have found each other they will crave one another's company the more time they spend together. It will be noted that it will start to become physically painful the longer they are apart the stronger the bond becomes. Therefore you can imagine just how painful it would be to live without your mate if they were to die before you turned them; leaving it too long is not a mistake you can afford to make._

 _Furthermore, it is not uncommon for mates to feel an aching in their heart when they are apart, an aching, which will only grow the more time you spend away from one another. Because of this, you are likely to be unable to sleep or feel any time of contentedness whilst away from your mate._

 _Once the transformation is complete the bond cannot be broken and it will reach its full strength. With this will come the ability to feel each other's emotions as if they are your own as well as the ability to read one another's thoughts. In some cases it has been known for mates to be able to reproduce, despite whether they are supernatural or not or whether the bond has been cemented or not, though it must be understood that this is extremely rare._

I could feel my mouth hanging open in shock as I tried to process all of the new information. It mostly explained what we had already been experiencing; the constant need to be around one another, the inability to sleep without him, the pull in my heart whenever we were apart. But being able to reproduce? Could I be pregnant? I wondered, but when I considered it for a few moments I knew the answer; I wasn't.

'It explains a lot,' I admitted, looking up to Nik and reading his surprise.

'It does,' he agreed, his eyes glued to the last paragraph.

'I'm not pregnant if that's what you're worried about.' I told him, squeezing his arm in reassurance. I felt his relief but I didn't allow myself to be upset about it; we had only been together a few weeks, though it felt like longer, we weren't ready for kids. Also with how Ester and Mikael has treated him I understood his reluctance to become a father; he feared what kind of parent he would become.

'We should probably address you turning her, Niklaus.' Elijah said.

'How do you feel about it love?' Klaus asked, his expression guarded but I could feel that he was concerned that I might not want to be turned.

I thought about it, and honestly I didn't feel anything other than calm about it, as if it was _meant_ to happen. Though I knew I would want to talk to Elena about it first, I couldn't just turn up at home part vampire without giving her any warning.

'I'm fine with it, but I want to tell Elena about it first.' I told him honestly. He gave me a relieved look and nodded in acknowledgement of my words, 'speaking of, she should be out of Meredith's apartment by now.'

I went to reach for my phone in my back pocket, groaning in annoyance when I remembered that Kol had never given it back to me. Wonderful.

'Can I borrow your phone?' I asked Nik.

He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it over without a word, I kissed his cheek in thanks as I dialled Elena's number. She didn't answer the first time so I dialled her again, she picked up on the third ring.

'Hello?' She sounded breathless.

'Hey, did I interrupt something?' I asked, smirking a little.

'No.' She sounded defensive, which told me I had in fact interrupted something.

'Sorry. I just wanted an update on the whole Meredith situation.'

'We found a medical examiners report with a different time of death in the Brian Walters murder than the one she had given to the Sherriff.' Elena answered.

'So she was framing Ric then? Did you take it to the Sherriff?' I asked, sitting on Nik's lap and wrapping my arm around his neck.

'Well… she kind of caught me in her apartment and called the police.' She admitted, her voice sheepish.

'You're not the best criminal then little sister,' I laughed before I continued, 'where was Kol when this happened?'

'He was stood at the doorway when she came so he got arrested as well.'

I laughed even harder than I had before, sharing a look with Nik when he chuckled as well.

'I'll take it Care's mom let you off?' I asked once I had stopped laughing.

'Yep. They're letting Ric out, he should be home soon, but Meredith gets to walk free. Apparently she had already taken the new coroners report to the Sherriff before I found the one she had in her apartment.'

'Well why did she have a copy?' My tone was confused.

'That's what I said but Sherriff Forbes said that she can't ask that because I broke into her apartment to find it.'

'Well that's unfortunate. Are you at home now?' I asked.

'Umm… not quite yet I just have an- errand to run first,' Elena stuttered making me grin knowingly.

'Lena you can tell me that you're having fun with Kol, I won't tell anyone,' I teased.

'Maybe you won't but the same cannot be said for the Original's probably listening to this conversation,' she answered back immediately.

'Fair enough. When will you be home then? I need to talk to you about something.' I said, absentmindedly running my hands through Nik's hair as I spoke.

'Umm... an hour?' Elena said before she continued, 'Ric should already be at the house though.'

'Okay I'll see you soon. Love you, Lena.' I muttered.

'Love you too, Kimmie,' She sounded distracted when she answered and I tried not to think about what Kol was doing to divert her attention as I hung up the phone.

I exhaled loudly once the receiver had cut off, suddenly very nervous.

'What seems to be troubling you, Kimberly?' Elijah asked.

'She could take it either way. I can _feel_ it; it's equally likely that she's going to hate the idea of me turning or she's going to be cool with it.' I answered, looking down at the table. Nik moved his hand up and down my back comfortingly, which helped quell my nerves almost immediately.

'She's your sister and she loves you.' Nik assured me.

I nodded but otherwise didn't answer as I rested my head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, happy when a blanket of security washed over me.

'So is that everything that we need to know?' Nik asked his head jolting, I assumed he was gesturing to the book that still sat opened on the table.

'I believe so, but I will keep digging just to be certain,' Elijah replied.

'Thank you Lijah,' I said, turning my head to give him a soft smile, he returned it but otherwise didn't respond. After a while Elijah left the room saying something about checking in with Rebekah; Nik and I just sat in comfortable silence until I noticed the time and figured I should probably get home.

'I need to talk to Elena, but can you come over after?' I asked him.

'Of course, love,' Nik smiled, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek before he flashed me back to my house, gently placing my feet on the porch when we had come to a full stop.

We didn't give each other a verbal goodbye; he simply kissed my forehead and flashed away. With a smile on my face I turned and unlocked the door, allowing myself to focus on the tingling on my forehead where his lips had touched my skin rather than the nerves that wanted to bubble to the surface.

'Hey, Kim.' Ric said from the living room.

I looked over to him, my smile faltering when I looked him over. The feeling that washed over me hadn't happened since Klaus had been in Ric's body, but at the same time it was different; I didn't feel like I was looking at someone else, this felt like Ric but at the same time it didn't. I could feel hatred and disgust coming from him, things that I had never felt coming from Ric when he looked at me.

'Hey.' I eventually answered, moving further into the house, trying to make my movements look casual, 'so you finally got released, huh?' I tried to make conversation as I discretely walked over to the landline, knowing that I didn't have my phone.

'Yeah.' He said, though his expression looked like he wanted to say something more, his anger implying that it wasn't anything good, 'where have you been?'

'Oh I was at Klaus'.' I told him honestly, I had reached the landline and I discretely lifted the receiver as I dialled Klaus' number, grateful that the cabinet was blocking me from his view.

'Do you ever feel remorse?' He asked, his question throwing me.

'Excuse me?' I questioned, my attention still on dialling Klaus' number, I had just pressed the last digit when I felt Alaric join me in the room. I walked over to the fridge, pretending that I hadn't been using the phone.

'You're openly affectionate towards one of the deadliest vampires on the earth, a vampire who has killed thousands of people, some of which you just stood by and watched. So I'll ask you again,' He paused, reaching to the counter to grab a knife, 'do you feel remorse?'

'How about I promise to answer that when you've put the knife down?' I tried to bargain as I backed away from him, I had a bad feeling but I was too focused on making sure I was as far away from him as I could possibly be that I didn't know who the bad feeling was for.

He stepped closer to me, the knife glittering from the overhead lights shining on it. I almost made it to the doorway in the kitchen that led to the front door but he caught me, pinning my arms behind my back as he held the knife over my heart. I felt the metal pierce my skin and that was when I knew that I was going to die. A second later the front door was flung open and Alaric plunged the knife into my heart just as I met Nik's horrified eyes. I felt myself being lifted into Nik's arms and thought I was happy that it was his arms I was going to die in…then I was gone.

 **That's chapter 22! I hope you enjoyed it! Don't hate me for the ending ;) Let me know what you think :)**

 **A huge thank you to ChibiSpyStuff and Charmedgrays for choosing to either follow or favourite my story! It means a lot :)**

 _ **Lloryn: Yes! Yes! The wicked witch is dead! So… did they actually kill Bonnie's mom or turn her? Since it's Elena/Kol now do we also get a Stefan/Bonnie? I mean she did like him first after all, even tho she never did anything about it, would be an interesting match up to explore. Good chapter, can't wait for the next one! Keep up the good work.**_ **Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it :) And I'm not too certain at this stage whether or not Bonnie and the Salvatore's will be highly involved, we'll just have to see how the story develops. As for Bonnie's mom, she's turned into a vampire like she was in the series :)**

 _ **Hayden: Amazing chapter.**_ **Thank you :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: Finn rocked this chapter! XD love it! And Kim is soooo cute when drunk. Good job!**_ **Thank you, and I thought so too, I wanted Finn to be loyal to his siblings rather than desperate to die like he is in the series and I'm glad you enjoyed Kim drunk- I had a lot of fun writing that one.**


	23. Do Not Go Gentle

Chapter Twenty Three

 _I felt like I was falling deeper and deeper into the water, the black abyss suffocating me, consuming me. When I opened my mouth to call out for help or scream, the water invaded my lungs in a warning, telling me if I wanted to live I had to remain quiet. So I did. I stayed quiet, unmoving revelling in the peace and the quiet around me. I don't know how long I was there for, but eventually a pain started in my chest, at first it was bearable, nothing more than a needle prick. But it continued to escalate until I felt like I was being stabbed in the heart. My hand went to my chest gasping for air-_

My hand was cupping my chest as I sat up straight with a gasp. My forehead was caked with sweat and my heart was beating a million miles a minute, but it was _beating_. Once I realised that my heart was actually fine, I looked around taking in my surroundings. I was in Klaus' bedroom, the curtains were wide open but it was dark outside, which made me wonder how long I had been here for. I tried to think back to the last thing I remembered and my brain flooded with images of Alaric stabbing me, to being caught in Nik's arms as I collapsed. I was stabbed in the heart but I'm still alive… did that mean I was in transition? I felt the answer as soon as the question ran through my mind: no. I wasn't in transition, I didn't know how I was still alive _and_ human, but I was.

I needed to find Klaus. That was the one thought that seemed to remain prominent in my mind above all of the others. He wasn't here, but I knew that he hadn't been gone for long; I could still feel him close by. I tried to stand, but I suddenly felt very weak and light headed. What the hell? So instead of trying to find him on foot seeing as my body wouldn't allow it, I adapted a different tactic.

'Nik?' My voice wasn't above a whisper, but I could feel his heart lurch when he heard my voice and not three seconds later he was kneeling beside the bed where I was laying, his hand holding mine.

'You're awake,' he said, his voice so low that I almost didn't hear him; I could feel the worry mixed with relief flowing from him, I wanted to relieve him of his concern but as if he knew what I was thinking he gave me a hard look, 'don't even think about it, love.'

'Fine,' I sighed, my free hand moving up to cup his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly, 'how am I alive? I thought I'd be in transition.'

'Well after I ripped the vampire hunter's heart from his chest I gave you CPR. I got your heart beating again and I fed you some of my blood to heal you. There was still a chance it could go either way, though.' He said, his voice low as he tried to keep the pain from his voice as he remembered what had happened.

I wasn't too worried over Alaric; I knew he would have been wearing his ring, so he would still be alive, though what he did… it wasn't him.

'Thank you.' I gestured for him to come to me, which he did with a soft smile; I kissed his cheek gently, loving the feel of his forehead against mine, 'how long have I been out?'

'Two days, love.' Nik's voice was gently as he broke the news to me.

'What?' I tried to sit up, but I couldn't both because I didn't have the strength and Klaus was holding me down with a hand on my shoulder.

'Everyone's been visiting you. Even Bonnie; you've had everyone quite worried, love,' Nik said his voice serious.

'I should see them, could you call them and let them know I'm awake?' I asked, trying to discretely rub my temple to ease the tension that was starting to form.

'Of course, love but first,' he pulled away and bit into his wrist, I ignored the stinging where my own wrist opened up as he offered his blood to me, 'drink'.

I did so without hesitation, moaning at the taste as well as the immediate affect it had over my body; it caused my tiredness and my headache to fade, leaving my body humming with energy, which was when I stopped drinking.

'Better?' He asked with a smirk.

'Much better.' I agreed, licking the blood from the corners of my lips with my tongue, 'aged to perfection.' I winked.

He laughed, resting his forehead against mine again, 'I'm so glad you're all right.' He whispered his voice was so low, I wondered if he meant for me to hear him.

'It's going to take a lot more than an unhinged vampire hunter to get rid of me, Nik,' I assured him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, which somehow made all of the concern drain from him, not that I was complaining.

He pulled back and stared into my eyes, his own so soft and intense it made my heart beat faster, 'I-' he started but someone banging on the door cut him off.

'Come on, Nik! You've hogged her long enough, I want to see my bestie!' Kol shouted from the other side of the door, making me laugh while Nik rolled his eyes in irritation and amusement, but he did move back so I could stand up and answer the door.

'Coming, bestie!' I shouted back, I went to reach for the door handle but it suddenly flung open banging loudly on the door as it did. Before I had any time to process what was happening, I was lifted in Kol's arms as he twirled me around; I couldn't help but laugh in surprise.

'I'm so glad you're awake. Everyone's been miserable without you around.' Kol pouted as he gently placed me back on the floor.

'I'm glad I'm awake too.' I smiled at him, squeezing his arm lightly before I was pulled into someone else's arms, I couldn't help but squeak in surprise, as I wasn't expecting it. I looked up to see the relieved eyes of Elijah as he gently smiled at me.

'I'm glad you're all right, Kimberly. You gave us quite the fright.' Elijah said, his voice as calm and collected as always as he released me from his hug.

'I'm sorry,' I apologised.

Elijah opened his mouth to retort but before he could I was pulled into another hug, Finn being the Mikaelson behind it this time. He offered me a soft smile when he pulled away, which I returned but otherwise he didn't say anything else; I could read the relief in his eyes and the happiness in his smile, so no words needed to be said. Once Finn released me, Nik placed his arm around my waist, and I reciprocated the gesture.

'Where are Elena and Bekah?' I asked, noticing that they weren't there, which was odd.

'Elena's asleep,' Kol offered, smiling at the mention of her before he continued, 'she hasn't been getting much sleep since you got attacked.'

'I'll leave her to sleep as long as she needs then.' I said, frowning at the mention of my sister being under duress, but I knew if it had been the other way around I would have been exactly the same if not worse.

'Bekah should be getting ready for the dance, though I haven't heard her move for a while so she may have already left.' Nik said, resting his head on my shoulder and wrapping his arms around my waist.

As soon as the words left his mouth I knew something was wrong; as much as Bekah loved school dances she wouldn't have left me to go to one while my state of recovery was questionable. I just needed to get the details to figure out what the niggling feeling at the back of my brain was about.

'What have I missed anyway?' I asked as we all made our way down stairs to the sitting room, Nik pulled me onto his lap, while the other Mikaelson's took their own seats.

'Oh, darling let's just say it's been a busy few days.' Kol muttered before Elijah launched into the details; I had to concentrate to take it all in. It turned out Ric's ring had been what caused the darkest parts of himself to take over his body from time to time, and it had been him who had attacked me. Bonnie had managed to find a spell and some herbs to keep it at bay, but I had a feeling that it wasn't working. Bekah had found out that the white oak tree had been used to build the underneath of Wickery Bridge, though Damon had been snooping in her head and found it out as well, but Bekah burned it before he could use it. At least she thought she did; Stefan and Damon had forged some stakes from the remaining white oak that had also been used in the sign that graced the bridge. They had tried to kill Finn and Kol while they were at the Mystic Grill trying to cheer up Elena; when I heard this it pissed me off. Needless to say, they had failed and Klaus had ordered they hand over the stakes or he would kill everyone that they had ever cared about; they collected the stakes only to find out that Alaric's alter ego had hidden his somewhere that they couldn't find it. Damon and Stefan spent yesterday beating the location out of him, Bekah took him to get it and Nik apparently burned it. But as soon as Elijah said the words, I knew it wasn't true and when they told me about Ester coming to the house and talking to Bekah alone before she died, I knew what was going on. I jumped up from the sofa with urgency and went to the room that Klaus kept the coffins. I opened them all, noting that Ester's body was gone and Bekah was lying daggered in a box, I pulled it out without hesitation and turned to the four Mikaelson's who entered the room after me.

'I'm assuming that none of you daggered her?' I said, placing the dagger on the table to my left, 'Ester has got something to do with this I can feel it; I'll bet she was possessing Bekah's body from when she came to see her, meaning that when she went with Alaric to collect the remaining dagger…'

'Ester had the chance to swap it, so when I burned the dagger…' Nik trailed off looking more and more concerned.

'You didn't burn the remaining white oak.' Elijah filled in for him.

'What if she's planning on using Alaric somehow? Think about it; a man with a vampire hating alter ego and a woman who wants to rid the world of the evil she created,' Finn murmured his own concern matching his siblings.

'That's exactly what she's planning,' I whispered as the realisation washed over me like a bucket of water.

We were all cut off as Bekah suddenly sat up in her coffin, gasping for breath, 'what the bloody hell happened?'

'Oh, sister it's a long story…' I went to fill her in but I was cut off as she flashed over to me.

'Kim! You're awake!' She said, her voice full of excitement as she hugged me tightly; I couldn't help but laugh softly at her enthusiasm.

'I'm awake,' I assured her.

The next thirty minutes were spent catching Bekah up on everything she had missed, which was almost as much as I had, before we sat down and decided how we were going to handle Ester's new plan. Just like we had before, we decided to act completely normal; Bekah mentioned the dance that she had been helping to plan, so we decided that we were all going to go, seeing as Bekah would have convinced her brothers to go nonetheless. Though I wasn't looking forward to being dressed up, I was happy to be doing something relatively normal, even if it was going to a high school dance as a chaperone. Bekah was trying to get me to stand up so she could usher me to the room she had people waiting to do our hair and make-up but I was putting up a fight.

'Kim, come on!' Bekah looked like she was two minutes away from stomping her foot.

'I'll be up in a little while, I'm still a little tired,' I lied, resting my head on Nik's shoulder to make myself more convincing.

'You've been asleep for two days!' She complained, crossing her arms over her chest.

'We have plenty of time to get ready, Bekah.' I tried a different angle, 'it's four in the afternoon, and we don't have to be there until seven.'

'Yes and three hours is cutting it close, now _come on!'_ Bekah said getting more and more irritated.

Apparently I didn't move fast enough because I was suddenly thrown over Bekah's shoulder much to everyone else's amusement.

'Bekah! What the _hell_ , I can _walk_!' I screamed, smacking her back, but of course it had no effect.

'You weren't moving fast enough,' she said, waving her hand dismissively as if that explained everything.

'Oh for goodness sake!' I muttered before I continued when I heard Kol and Nik laughing loudly; Elijah and Finn were just as amused but they were much more subdued, 'you could help, you know.'

Nik just held his hands up in an 'I'm not stupid enough to mess with Bekah right now' gesture, his amusement only growing when I glared at him. I looked over to the other three who just repeated the same gesture; I rolled my eyes at all of them, before Bekah had carried me out of sight. I was half way through being plucked and prodded when Elena walked into the room and almost knocked me to the floor.

'Thank _god_ you're okay. When I saw you covered in blood with a knife in your chest I-,' she cut off as she started to sob, I sent a wave of comfort to her, happy when she calmed down a little.

'It's okay. I'm okay,' I assured her, stroking her hair, I noticed that the women working on my hair hadn't hastened in their progress; I internally snorted at that, 'anyway, I'm almost done and then it'll be your turn,' I winked at her, attempting to lighten the mood a little and I was glad when it worked and she laughed lightly.

An hour later Bekah and I were finished as we sat on Bekah's bed and waited for Elena. We were all dressed as flappers from the roaring twenties; our dresses were identical, fitted and beaded. Bekah and Elena were wearing wigs that were styled into a short bob; Elena's was brown and Bekah's blonde. I had point blank refused to wear a wig, knowing how much it would irritate me from last years Halloween costume, so instead my own hair had been pinned up with about a million pins, a few strands of my hair left down and curled into ringlets to frame my face.

'It's six thirty,' I commented, hoping we would be leaving soon, I was starting to get stir crazy.

'We're just finishing up, Miss,' the woman putting the finishing touches on Elena's hair said.

'Wonderful,' Bekah muttered, looking a little annoyed herself.

'Bekah, if we don't leave soon we're going to be late to your precious dance!' Kol called from the other side of the door.

'Bestie! Save me, please!' I called out from my place on the bed.

Kol laughed loudly before he pushed the door open without another word, he still had a grin on his face as he glanced over to my pleading expression but it dropped into one of awe when his eyes landed on Elena who was just standing up from the chair she had been sat on for the past hour. I smiled when I felt the waves of affection and attraction coming from them both. My eyes snapped away from them when the pull in my heart drew my gaze to the doorway where Nik was standing. I saw he was wearing a white tux with a matching bow tie and he looked _incredibly_ sexy, when my eyes finally met his I noticed that his eyes had darkened much like my own and we wore matching expressions of lust. At some point I had stood from the bed and my legs had carried me over to him as he met me in the middle. His lips were on mine before I could process another thought, moving passionately as my own hands tangled in his hair, keeping him there.

'Okay, you four need to stop before I vomit.' Bekah said, sounding mildly disgusted.

We pulled away from each other, I rested my forehead against his smiling softly at the tenderness in his eyes before he pecked my lips softly once more and turned back to his sister, his mask becoming one of irritation. Before he could say anything Bekah cut him off.

'Listen, Nik, you two can do that to your hearts content when I'm not in the vicinity.' She muttered, her hands resting on her hips before she turned to also glare at Kol and Elena who were also breathing heavily, 'you two as well.'

Elena and I laughed lightly while Kol and Nik just glared at their little sister in annoyance, but I could feel that it was only light hearted. We made our way out shortly after, walking into the gym that was decorated in nineteen twenties galore.

'The decorations are great, Bekah.' I complimented her, genuinely meaning it, she beamed at me before she went off to find Matt. I turned to Klaus whose arm was linked through mine, 'if this is what the twenties was actually like this then I'm sorry I missed it.'

Nik grinned as he led me to the dance floor, one hand on my waist the other linked through mine, pulling my body flush against his as we moved to the music.

'You would have loved the twenties, Kimberly. The girls were reckless, sexy, fun. They literally used to dance until they dropped.' Nik said, his voice dropping to a huskier tone.

'I doubt I would have fit the bill, you know with my laziness.' I muttered, completely meaning it; Elena may drag me out on a few runs here and there but dancing until I dropped sounded like hell to me.

Nik laughed, his eyes lighting up with amusement, 'you may have surprised yourself.'

'I doubt it,' I mumbled against his shoulder.

'I look forward to having forever to show you _everything_ that the world has to offer.' He whispered into my ear, his breath blowing onto my neck making me shiver.

'All I need is you.' I assured him, staring into his eyes so that he could see that I was being sincere; I noticed his eyes glimmer with vulnerability and _hope._ I pressed my lips to his and stared back, allowing him to search for whatever he was looking for. After a while he blinked, his expression softening as he kissed my forehead and spun me suddenly, making me laugh in surprise. I don't know how much longer we were dancing, but eventually I got thirsty and ushered him over to the punch table. Someone had clearly spiked it, and after my first drink I was moderately buzzed so whatever it was must have been strong stuff. Once I had finished my first glass Kol yanked me back onto the dance floor as he dipped me and spun me around rather haphazardly.

'Jesus Christ, Kol,' I laughed, grabbing onto his shoulders for support and to make sure I didn't end up on the floor.

'I had to have a dance with my bestie,' he smirked; twirling me around again, I could feel the beads on my dress flapping around wildly as a result.

'Very true,' I agreed, nodding my head seriously before a smile took over my face, 'so… you and my sister huh?' I wiggled my eyebrows teasingly.

'Me and your sister,' he confirmed, his eyes lighting up at the mention of her before they darkened in concern as he looked down to me 'you-.'

I cut him off, 'I hope you're not about to ask if I'm all right with it,' I raised my eyebrows in defiance before I continued, 'you make her happy, she makes you happy. That's all that matters to me, Kol.' I assured him, kissing his cheek before I smiled brightly.

'Though if you hurt her, I will make you suffer,' I winked teasingly at him, though I was deadly serious, he laughed anyway, 'I'm serious. She will be getting the same threat don't you worry bestie, no-one's hurting you either.'

The laugher drained away from his face as his expression became soft, 'we're lucky to have you, you know.'

His statement made me blink in surprise before I returned his smile, 'I'm lucky to have all of you.'

He kissed my cheek before I was stolen way by Elijah, his dancing much more subdued than Kol's; I looked over to see that Nik was dancing with Bekah and it was nice to see them smiling and getting along without their constant bickering. I was about to make a joke when I felt Kol's panic coming from behind me, I instantly turned around, grabbing Elijah's wrist and dragging him with me.

'Kol? What's wrong?' I asked, though I already had a pretty good feeling.

'I can't find Elena.' He said, his panic rising as well as his anger towards whoever was behind this.

'She's not here. Not anymore.' I said my voice certain as I looked over to Nik. He caught my eye and seeing my concern he made his way over to me without a moments hesitation, bringing Bekah and Finn with him. I walked out into the corridor and saw Damon and Stefan already making their way towards the exit; I followed them.

'Lost someone?' I asked innocently with my arms crossed over my chest.

'Not now, princess,' Damon said, waving his hand dismissively.

'Damon if you know where Elena is…' I trailed off my tone becoming threatening and I noticed that Damon and Stefan straightened slightly, though I suspected that had something to do with the five Originals that were probably sending them death glares.

'All I know is that we got dragged here with a lead on Ric but he is no where to be seen…' Damon said, his hands flailing around as he explained.

I could feel the honesty coming from him so I tuned him out as I tried to concentrate on what the whole point in gathering us all here was. If she was planning on taking Elena then why would she… No!

'Son of a bitch!' I shouted, stepping forward, the Salvatore brothers moving out of my way immediately, which if I wasn't so angry and worried in that moment I would have laughed. I saw the barrier of salt around the school and my stomach dropped, 'she's trapped us here.'

'What?' Kol was the first to say as he walked forward and tried to put his hand over the salt, but he was met with an invisible barrier.

I went to copy his movements and noticed that my hand went through, I met Kol's eyes in surprise before I went to step over the barrier but I was pulled back with a yank on my wrist.

I didn't have to look over to know that Klaus was behind it, 'Klaus…' I started but he cut me off with a look that made me roll my eyes.

'If you think I'm letting you near my Mother after last time then you are sorely mistaken.' Klaus said, his tone dripping with disdain.

'Whatever she wants her for, she's not going to hurt her I know that.' I said looking over to Kol, sending him a wave of reassurance as I did, 'but whatever she's planning on using her for isn't going to end well for anyone. I can get through, I should go.'

'Whatever who wants her for?' Stefan asked, him and Damon completely confused.

'She's my sister, Klaus. I have to try and help her.' I said, my tone pleading.

'Fine. You can go, but first let's find out where she actually is, shall we?' He turned to Stefan and Damon, 'if you two could be so kind as to find the local witch, we're in need of a locator spell.'

Surprisingly, Stefan and Damon scuttled off to do just that without complaint, leaving the Original siblings and me alone, summoning us to a classroom a few moments later where Bonnie had a map open on the desk.

'Hey, Bon.' I greeted her, my voice soft; I knew she had been to see me while I had been out but that didn't necessarily mean she forgave me for her Mother, and I wouldn't have blamed her if she hadn't.

'Hey, Kimmie,' she returned my soft smile and was relieved when I didn't feel any hatred or deceit coming from her.

'Do you think you can find her?' I asked looking to the map.

'I've been trying, using some of her hair from the brush in her locker, but it's like someone's fighting me.' She said, sounding concerned.

'How would she have that much power?' I asked, looking over to Nik who looked like he was wondering the same thing.

'She could be channeling something… like a hotspot?' Bonnie suggested.

I felt Nik's realization and looked over to him questioningly as his eyes met mine, we had a silent conversation, reading each other's facial expressions.

 _You know where she is. Tell me._

 _Love, I don't know about this…_

 _Nik, I'm not having this argument with you again._

 _Fine, but you have to take my blood._

 _I already did, earlier._

 _That healed you of your wounds before; it would be out of your system by now._

 _Okay, fine, whatever you want._

'Okay, stop that. You're freaking me out,' Damon said from the other side of Bonnie, snapping Nik and me out of our conversation.

'Where is she then?' Stefan asked, his arms crossed as he stood beside Damon.

'Where I ripped her heart out a thousand years ago, it's the cemetery now.' Nik answered, albeit a little reluctantly.

I nodded and walked out into the hallway, unsurprised when he followed me, I turned and took the wrist he had already bitten into without question, drinking a few gulps before I pulled back. I caressed the side of his face as I looked into his worried gaze, placing a kiss onto his lips.

'I'm going to be okay,' I told him, because I was. I placed another kiss on his lips, amplifying the reassurance I was sending to him, before I pulled away and left the school without another word. I made good time, managing to get to the cemetery in roughly ten minutes. I saw the fire flickering inside one of the crypts and made my way towards it, not knowing what kind of situation I was going to walk in on. I immediately took Elena's fear and when I walked through the doorway I felt my own concern grow.

'Elena-,' I was cut off when Ester walked forward from the shadows.

'Kimberly. I was wondering when you were going to get here.' Ester said, her voice sounding somewhat smug.

'What are you doing?' I asked, playing dumb.

'I am creating the ultimate weapon. The ultimate vampire hunter, far better than Mikael ever was.' She replied, her voice making her sound like she was making a pitch.

'Really? How do you plan on that?' I inquired, my tone innocent as I reached for Elena to pull her to my chest in a comforting gesture.

She didn't answer and I knew whatever she was leaving out had something to do with Elena… but what?

'Did she do anything to you?' I whispered softly to Elena.

'She took my blood,' she sniffled against my chest; I knew that she was more concerned about Alaric than she was either of us and rightly so, if the ball of ice forming in my gut was anything to go by, anyway.

'He shall be waking soon, he may be himself for a little while, giving you chance to say goodbye,' Ester muttered before she left the crypt.

'That woman, pure psycho,' I mumbled getting a startled laugh from Elena, 'she's linked his life to yours, Lena.'

'Wh-what?' She stuttered pulling back to look at me.

'That's the only reason I can think of for her taking your blood to make him. We'll figure it out, don't worry.' I assured her as I walked away and grabbed the white oak stake from the table, holding it behind my back as I gestured for Elena to stay put while I joined Ester outside. She had her back to me and rather than waste time making conversation I stalked silently forward and plunged the stake into her back, knowing that hesitation would only give her a chance to retaliate. I pulled the stake from her and tucked it into the side of my leg, holding it in place with my underwear under my dress. I walked back inside and saw that Alaric was awake and hugging Elena as tears streamed down his face. I was about to walk out to give them a moment when Elena pulled back and Ric stood, pulling me into a brief hug before he moved away.

'I'm sorry Ric.' I said, meaning it; he didn't deserve to be used in this way.

'It's okay.' He mumbled as he looked to the floor, tears in his eyes, 'I'm not going to complete the transition.'

'I-I don't know what to say,' I said honestly, I wasn't surprised but I was at a loss for words- what could I say to that?

'There's nothing you have to say,' Ric said, a soft smile on his face.

Before the conversation could flow any further, Damon and Stefan were suddenly in the crypt. Elena gave Ric one final hug goodbye and we made our way outside where the Originals were waiting; Elijah was holding Ester's body in his arms, and I could feel their collective relief that we were both all right.

'Let's get out of here.' I muttered linking my hand through Nik's as Elena went to Kol, him offering her his wrist to heal the wound she had acquired. Nik lifted me and we flashed back to the mansion in seconds, I immediately went to his room, stripping off my dress and the million pins in my hair and placing the dagger on the sink while I showered. When I got out I put on one of the shirts Nik had folded on the counter and picked up the dagger, walking into the bedroom already knowing he would be there. He looked up from where he was laying on the bed, his smile instantly dropping when he saw what I had in my hands.

'Look what your Mother made.' I said, throwing the stake to Nik on the bed.

'Does anyone else know about this?' He asked.

'Elena and Alaric but otherwise no, not that I'm aware of.' I answered honestly, 'Nik, he's going to complete the transition and when he does he's going to come for his weapon.'

'Well then we'll kill him with it. Five Originals against one, it shouldn't be too difficult.'

'No. She made him stronger than she made any of you and the white oak won't work on him either.' I looked to him, deciding whether I could trust him with what I was considering telling him, 'she took Elena's blood during the ritual.'

He looked confused for a moment before the realization dripped over his face, 'his life will be tied to Elena's.'

'Yes.' I sighed, concerned; I hadn't had a chance to talk to Elena about this yet, 'I need to talk to Elena, I have a few ideas on how we can get around it but for now, I think she needs to relax.' I muttered, cringing at how tense my neck and shoulders were.

Nik stood and moved to place the stake in a safe hidden behind one of his own paintings before he made his way back to the bed, flipping me so that my front was placed on the bed. I was about to ask him what he was doing when his hands started kneading my lower back, making his way up my shoulder blades and finally my shoulders and neck. I felt my eyelids drooping as his magical hands lulled the stiffness in my muscles, but they immediately sprang back open again when his hands went underneath my shirt to continue massaging my muscles. His touch became gentle and caressing as his hands moved over my shoulders and down to my waist, raising goose bumps on my skin and causing a persistent throbbing to begin between my thighs.

I moaned when his hands grazed over my ass cheeks, squeezing softly before his hands moved downward, palming my core, causing me to cry out. I registered that I was being flipped over before his hand was replaced with his mouth, making me moan once more. He added a finger, pumping in and out of me softly as his mouth continued over my core relentlessly, causing my back to arch from the pleasure it caused. Once of his hands moved to push under my shirt, gently squeezing my breast, his thumb moving over my nipple softly, all of it became too much and I reached my climax, my back arching once more as I did so. Before I had fully come down from the pleasure coursing through my body, I felt him position himself at my entrance as his body rested over mine. My hands went to his hair and pulled his lips to mine as he roughly slammed into me, enticing a gasp of pleasure from me, allowing his tongue to enter my mouth as a result. I moaned as he dominated the kiss while his hips moved with a greater ferocity against mine. My hands moved to his back, my nails running down his back, digging in hard enough to draw blood, enticing an approving growl from him. I was close to falling over the edge all over again, but I needed something… _more._ I moved my neck to the side, inviting him, he didn't hesitate, his hybrid face coming forward and sinking his fangs into me… and that was all it took for me to fall over the edge as I smothered my scream by biting into his own shoulder. I drank some of his own blood, licking his shoulder clean as he climaxed not long after me. He rested his forehead against mine, placing a gentle kiss to my lips before he flipped onto his back, pulling me against his chest and yanking the covers so that they rested over us. I rested my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling as his scent calmed me even more than I already was; I felt him gently running his hands through my hair and not thirty seconds later I had slipped into unconsciousness.

 **There's chapter twenty three for you! I hope you enjoyed it- let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to peanut188, NixRace, Iarissa8 and Emily Lilly Winchester for choosing to either follow or favorite my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **Guest: Amazing two chapters! Are you going to have Kim be pregnant in the Originals? Update soon please!**_ **Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I haven't decided yet... but we'll see ;)**

 _ **Lloryn: Well there goes telling Elena before turning….**_ **Does it? ;)**

 _ **Elljayde: Good chapter, I like how you've kept it open for them to have children even when she is turned. Wondering if you're going to make her a vampire now or if Klaus got there in time to heal her. Update soon.**_ **I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I wanted to keep that open just incase I decided to turn her before they went to New Orleans; I don't like the idea of her being defenseless and used against Klaus, which she would be if she was human. And he did ;)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX:…soo mean! T.T. Can't wait to know what happens next :) ps. Kol/Elena Fan!**_ **Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm glad you approve of Kelena ;)**

 _ **Hayden: Please she can't be dead.**_ **She's not- don't worry ;)**


	24. Before Sunset

Chapter Twenty Four

I woke up at ten the next morning, not particularly wanting to move and face the day. I knew it was going to be bad; Ric will have completed the transition by now but I was willing to bet that Ester hadn't been kind enough to provide him with a daylight ring though. That meant that as long as the sun was up, we would be relatively safe, I didn't know what the plan was yet; whether we were going to run or something else, but I personally had a few ideas. I let myself lay curled up against Nik's chest for a moment longer, watching his peaceful expression as he slept; the way the few curls he had framed his face, how his golden brown lashes rested against his cheeks, how his enticing red lips parted slightly as he breathed in and out. Watching him bought me a semblance of calm, and in that moment I needed all the calm I could get before it was ruined by whatever today was going to bring. I placed a kiss to his cheek and by some miracle I was able to get out of his grip without waking him; though his expression did darken which was a startling contrast to the serenity he had been wearing moments before. I sent a wave of comfort to him, which was amplified as I placed a tender kiss to his forehead before I reluctantly climbed out of bed. I didn't bother dressing anymore than I already was; I was still wearing one of Nik's shirts- it was plain black and cut off just above my knee, so I was reasonably covered, though I did add a pair of Nik's boxers seeing as I wasn't wearing any underwear and I didn't want to risk it.

When I was ready, I stepped out of Nik's room, closing the door gently behind me. By some miracle he hadn't woken up yet and I knew I wouldn't have long before he did; like me he woke soon after I wasn't near him anymore. I headed towards Kol's room, already knowing that him and the other Originals were down stairs somewhere because I couldn't sense them up here anymore, but Elena was still asleep. I softly pushed the door open and looked over to Kol's bed where Elena was snuggled under the black covers; she looked and felt peaceful and I hated that I was about to disrupt that. I walked over to the bed and sat down before I reached forward and gently jostled her shoulder, holding my finger to my lips to indicate that she needed to be silent so that none of the other siblings would hear me just yet. I had a few plans but seeing as it was Elena's life in the balance I thought it would be fair to let her decide which one we would go forward with; we would tell the others once we had decided, I wanted her decision to be what _she_ wanted, thus I wanted to avoid anyone else's wants or desires affecting her choice.

I opened my phone to the notes section and typed into it to explain the need for quiet.

 _I have a few ideas on how to deal with Alaric, but seeing as it's your life his is tied to I want the decision to be yours as to which plan we go for._

As her eyes read over the words I noticed her confusion ebb away as her eyes lit up with understanding, she gave me a look to tell her my plans as she handed me the phone back.

 _Well…_

We spoke over notes and glances for a few more minutes before Elena made her decision; I wasn't surprised as to what she decided on but I forced my expression to remain blank as I nodded regardless; I didn't want to inflict any feelings with my reaction. Afterwards I left her to get dressed, noticing she was wearing one of Kol's shirts. I smirked at her knowingly and she retuned the look when she gestured to my sleepwear, I simply grinned in response.

When I got back to Nik's room I went to the shower, placing a kiss on his forehead on my way. I was just rinsing the conditioner out of my hair when the bathroom door opened and Nik walked in, still looking a little sleepy, but when his eyes landed on me they darkened lustfully. I smirked at him and motioned for him to join me, which he did without hesitation; his underwear stripped off in a flash and he was in front of me in an instant. My chest pressed against his and I bit my lip to keep back the gasp at the feeling of his skin on mine; he smirked knowingly as he placed his hands on my hips before his lips moved down to claim mine. My hands tangled in his hair, holding him closer to me as our tongues duelled for dominance, a battle which he won, drawing a moan from me as he always did. I felt his hands moving up and down the sides of my hips, in an almost taunting caress, drawing his hands to my attention making the need for them to be somewhere else grow considerably. Deciding that I wasn't going to put up with his teasing I pulled back from the kiss, my soft smile upon hearing his protest turning into one of mischief as I moved my hands from his hair to his shoulders. He frowned in confusion, but his expression soon morphed into one of surprise when I used the leverage on his shoulders to hoist myself up and wrap my legs around his waist; he stumbled back half a step but quickly regained his balance as he moved so that my back was now against the tiled wall and we were both immersed in the hot spray of the shower.

He smirked at my antics before he leaned forward, pretending that he was going to capture my lips with his when he moved at the last second, his hybrid face coming forward as his fangs sinking into my mark. His actions drew a startled, deep moan of pleasure from me as I felt him drinking hungrily; I too leaned forward and closed my lips over his mark that was also open, enticing me to drink. As I did, the pleasure overcame me and I couldn't stop myself from grinding my hips against his, pleased when a growl of approval erupted from Nik's chest. I felt him enter me swiftly, taking me by surprise, triggering a moan that was smothered by his shoulder. I took a few more gulps of his blood before I moved back, resting my head on the wall, feeling overwhelmed from the pleasure of him moving in and out of me roughly as well as the fact that he was still drinking from me. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I tried to process everything he was doing all at once; the way that his tongue gently licked across my shoulder as he drank from me, the way one of his hands rested on my hip as he squeezed me gently with every gulp of blood he drank, the way his other hand squeezed my ass cheek as he held me in place while he moved within me. It was all too much and it wasn't long before I fell over the edge, Nik following close behind me as he removed his fangs from my neck and sealed them over mine as he did, a satisfied growl erupting from his chest.

We shared a smile before Nik placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before he lowered me to the ground. I washed my body before I left him with a kiss to the cheek and a chuckle at his pout; he was too adorable sometimes, though I knew that anyone outside of his family wouldn't believe that to be true. I dressed in some clothes out of the bag that Elena had left in Nik's room for me; she had packed us both a bag after Alaric had attacked me. I wore some black high waisted skinny jeans with a blue lacy crop top. I dried my hair off with a towel as best as I could and left it down to dry, once I was dressed I made my way down stairs, meeting Elena in the hallway. I gave her a bright smile and a reassuring look to assure her I hadn't informed anyone of the plan yet. I linked my arm through hers as I practically skipped downstairs.

'Morning!' I said brightly to the other Mikaelson's who were sat around the dining table in the kitchen, though none of them were actually eating anything.

'Morning bestie!' Kol yelled back, wrapping his arm around Elena's shoulder as she sat on the empty stool beside him.

The other Mikaelson's answered back with a good morning, returning my bright smile. I saw their knowing looks at my attitude but I chose to ignore it, hoping to avoid any inappropriate comments, though in hindsight I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

'You're awfully… chipper this morning.' Kol smirked, drinking from the mug he was holding in the hand that wasn't wrapped around my sister.

'And?' I asked, raising my eyebrow in warning.

'No reason, I mean we have an un-killable vampire hunter after us, why wouldn't you be happy?' Kol said, his tone humorous.

'Because life is too short to spend moping around?' I suggested innocently as I searched through the cupboards for something to eat.

Of course, all of the Original siblings at the table laughed at my comment; they had all the time in the world to mope if they wished.

'What's so funny?' Nik asked as he walked into the kitchen a small smile on his face that I was sure was on my face; it was a knowing, content smile which made all of the other occupants of the kitchen look between us both as they tried to deduce what had gotten us in such a good mood given the circumstances.

'You tell us, brother.' Elijah said, his eyes sparkling with amusement as his eyes flickered between Nik and me before his gaze settled on his younger brother.

Nik looked over to me, smirking before he turned back to his family, 'I don't know what you mean, brother.'

I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief when he didn't answer with a suggestive comment; I knew Nik heard me but I ignored his amused expression, before I poured some Cookie Crisp cereal into a bowl and added milk.

'Does anyone want some cereal?' I asked, my voice casual as I held up the box in offering to everyone else in the room.

'I will please,' Elena said, her head resting contentedly against Kol's shoulder as she watched the encounter in front of her in amusement. I poured her a bowl, putting away the cereal when everyone else politely declined my offer, before I grabbed two spoons, passing one to Elena along with her breakfast. I took one of the two empty seats that were next to each other; Bekah sat to my left side, the empty seat to my right. I started to eat the Cookie Crisp goodness in front of me, silently praying that the previous conversation was finished, but of course it wasn't. Nik came to sit beside me, offering me a mug of coffee, which I accepted, placing a kiss to his cheek in thanks. He gave me a soft smile before he drank his own beverage; which I suspected was blood.

'Nice shower this morning?' Bekah suddenly asked from my left, causing me to nearly spit the coffee I had in my mouth across the table at Kol and Elena. Luckily, I managed to swallow it before my gaze met the five pairs of amused eyes staring between Nik and me. When I met his eyes we had a silent conversation as we read each other's expressions.

 _What do you think?_

 _I think that they are expecting us to be embarrassed, love._

 _Hmm… you're probably right._

 _I'm always right._ He smirked.

 _Sometimes, sure._ I winked, teasingly.

He raised a playful eyebrow at that before he responded, _what should we do then, love?_

 _I'm voting for casual._

We both smirked at each other before we turned to meet the bewildered expressions of the siblings that were staring at us both a little unnerved. I wanted to ask why they were looking at us like that, but I shook my head slightly, silently telling myself to stick with the plan.

'If you're asking if we had sex in the shower then she answer is yes.' I said, my voice monotone and my face void of any emotion.

Everyone's jaw seemed to fall open simultaneously as shock formed on all of their faces; Bekah was spluttering, Nik and me shared a look before we both laughed, our eyes twinkling in amusement.

'Anyway...' Bekah said, suddenly uncomfortable.

I just raised my brow at her, waiting for her to continue with her train of thought as I placed my hand on Nik's leg without even thinking about it; he laced his fingers through mine, resting them on his lap once more.

'What's the plan with Alaric?' Elijah finished her thought for her.

I shared a look with Elena as we leaned forward and informed them of the solution we had come up with. Thankfully, all of the Originals were on board and agreed that it was a well thought out plan and should work. I nodded with determination; I _knew_ it was going to work. Though I didn't know quite how well; we would have to wait for him to come to us seeing as he didn't have a daylight ring, he would know where to find us and it gave the rest of the day to prepare. Kol, Elijah and Elena went off to prepare their part of the plan while Nik, Bekah, Finn and I went to do ours. Once we were done we gathered in the living room, putting on some mindless T.V programme to pass the time seeing as the sun wasn't going to set for another six hours; it seemed that we always had time to kill while we waited for an attack from the enemy. I requested that we watch some Dexter, insisting even more when all of the Original's admitted that they hadn't even heard of it never mind watched it. As soon as we finished the first episode I could see that they were all hooked, their eyes glued to the T.V as they waited for the next one. I smiled and shook my head fondly before I pressed play, not wanting to risk any shouting or sounds of annoyance if I waited for too long. I rested my head back on Nik's chest, nuzzling into him and inhaling deeply; he tightened the hand around my waist in response while his other hand continued to play with my now dry hair.

'This is just brilliant! A cereal killer who kills criminals, genius!' Kol exclaimed, seeming to be muttering his thoughts aloud as he continued to watch the T.V.

'I agree brother, the notion of it is simply inventive.' Elijah nodded, his eyes also glued to the screen.

Finn and Bekah hummed in agreement, the only indication that they were actually listening to the conversation seeing as their eyes refused to move a well.

'Uh oh.' I muttered, sharing an amused look with Elena, who was resting her head against Kol's shoulder, her hand entwined with his.

'What's wrong love?' Nik asked, seeming more interested in my hair than he was the T.V. programme.

'I think I've created an obsession.' I said, nodding my head in the direction of the others.

Nik chuckled but made no other comment. After a while I repositioned myself so that I was sitting on his lap, enabling me to rest my face into the crook of his neck while he buried his own into my hair, inhaling for a moment before he pulled away and rested his chin on top of my head. We sighed happily as I nuzzled further into him, trying not to fall asleep.

'Maybe we should do something that requires more physical activity, seeing as Kim, Elena and Nik are minutes from falling asleep.' Finn said, but his voice was starting to sound far away as I started to drift into unconsciousness, so I only offered a grunt in reply, feeling Nik do the same.

'Alright, everybody up!' Rebekah shouted, her voice making me jump seeing as her mouth was right next to my ear.

'Bloody hell, Rebekah.' Nik yelled, rubbing the ear that she had shouted in, looking over to me and noticing that I was doing the same, he pressed a kiss to my temple in comfort, and I placed one to his pulse point with the same intention.

'As cute as you are, you cannot fall asleep right now! We are expecting a vampire hunter in a few hours, so come on you need to be awake and alert!' Bekah said, shoving my shoulder, causing me to push into Nik's chest.

'Ugh Bekah shove off.' I muttered, rolling my eyes in irritation.

'Get up.' She said, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow.

I sighed and moved to get up, but Nik tightened his hold on my waist, holding me in place as an act of defiance. I looked over to him and noticed his teasing smirk that he was aiming at Bekah and when I looked over to Bekah I noticed her expression darken in annoyance.

'I've mentioned about you putting me in between your fights,' I groaned as I tried and failed to get out of Nik's grip. I gave him a look and with a roll of his eyes he let his arms fall to his sides, the sound of his arms falling to the sofa making a dull thud. I kissed his lips in thanks before I stood, stretching out my muscles.

'So… what's the plan to keep us awake?' I asked as I pulled Elena from the sofa suddenly, causing her to gasp in surprise before she glared at me; I simply grinned at her.

'No idea.' Bekah admitted, looking away from her stare off with Nik to answer me with a sheepish smile.

I placed my hand to my chin, my index finger tapping over my lips in a thoughtful gesture before an idea came to my head, 'we should play a game!'

Everyone groaned in amusement, causing me to frown in confusion.

'Every time you suggest a game someone ends up getting drunk, love.' Nik explained when he noticed my expression.

'Oh' I grinned evilly before I continued, 'well you'll be happy to know this idea doesn't involve alcohol.' I informed them, laughing when they collectively sighed in relief.

'Wait… you're not going to suggest what I think you are, are you?' Elena asked, her tone laced with dread.

'Twister!' I announced happily; Twister had been my favourite game as a child and it still was on the rare occasions I managed to coerce people into playing. Elena groaned in displeasure while the other occupants of the room looked confused.

'Don't tell me you've _never_ heard of Twister?' I said, shocked when they all shook their heads to stay they hadn't, 'well get ready to play the best game that has ever existed.' I muttered before I walked off to the room I remembered Nik pointing out as the games room. I found a cupboard full of board games and squealed in delight when I saw the one I was looking for; I managed to pull the game out without causing any of the others to fall, how I didn't know, but I wasn't going to complain. I took the box back into the living room, opening it and pulling out the mat, placing it over the open carpet space behind the sofa that Elena and Kol were sitting on. I could feel everyone else's confusion grow as they watched what I was doing and I grinned in excitement, a part of me couldn't believe we were about to play Twister while we waited for Alaric to come and murder us all, but at the same time I knew that this was what we needed; something to take our minds off the impending attack and pass the time a little more quickly.

'So how do we play?' Kol asked his tone curious as he observed my excitement and Elena's dread; let's just say I usually got a little competitive when I played this game.

'Someone spins this, another is the referee so to speak and observes the other players to make sure they complete their moves properly and don't move in between turns. Each player is given a move they have to complete as it lands on the board. If you fall when you do it or drop your pose, you lose.' I said, holding up the board as I explained its purpose. I noticed that Finn and Elijah looked rather bemused by the whole idea of the game and I suggested that one of them play the role of the referee while the other manned the board so that they could observe the game and decide if they wanted to participate beyond their current roles. Elijah pulled a char from the dining room as he sat at the end of the mat, one of his legs crossed over his knee as he held the board in his hands; Finn remained standing, both of them looking like they were going to take their roles seriously.

'Elena, you should go first.' I said, pushing her towards the mat.

She frowned at me before she asked, 'why?'

'Because you're the youngest.' I smirked; crossing my arms over my chest while the Mikaelson's looked between us in amusement.

She rolled her eyes but complied, turning to Elijah as she waited for her instruction. We had all already removed our socks and shoes, knowing that socks against the mat would be a disadvantage.

'Left foot red,' Elijah said, his voice calm as he gestured for Elena to move forward, she did, dramatically stomping her left foot on one of the red dots.

'Nice move, Elena; I like your technique,' I teased, chuckling when she rolled her eyes at me.

'Your turn, love if we're going in age order,' Nik smirked pushing me forward.

I returned his smirk before I looked over to Elijah awaiting my instruction.

'Right hand blue.' Elijah said, gesturing for me to move forward as he had with Elena.

I walked over to the mat and bent over, placing the appropriate hand on the correct colour, looking over to Nik and raising my brow when I felt his arousal as I had bent over. His eyes had darkened in lust and I sent him a smirk before Bekah walked forward for her instruction. An hour passed by and we all ended up crushed together, desperately trying to remain in our positions; I was currently in a crab position; my two hands on opposite sides of the mat, my feet doing the same. Nik was hovering over me, his lips close to mine, something he wouldn't let me forget as he kept placing kisses on my body to distract me, earning himself a glare every time he did, of course this only seemed to encourage him as he chuckled. Bekah was bent over my legs and Elena's face; Elena in a similar position to me but the other way around. Bekah was trying not to move too much as Kol was leaning over her. In other words, if Kol fell we were all fucked.

'Kimberly, right foot yellow.' Elijah said, a hint of amusement in his voice and I couldn't blame him with how ridiculous we all probably looked in that moment.

I groaned as I tried to lift my head and get a visual on my foot; I was going to have to avoid kicking Bekah or Elena in the face as I completed this move. I braced myself and slowly started to move my foot over to the yellow, I was just about to gently drop it down only to do it suddenly when Nik used my diverted attention to his advantage and placed a kiss to my collarbone, his tongue tracing the path of his lips. Luckily I landed on the right colour, even if it was a little hastily as I glared at Nik, ignoring the tingles running throughout my body, but he just gave me a knowing look, probably able to hear my elevated heartbeat. I was starting to wonder if the game was ever going to end when Kol seemed to lose the battle with his balance and fell forward, jostling Bekah and Nik as he went down. Bekah landed on top of Elena and my lower half with a huff, Kol falling on top of her, before I could laugh too much however, Nik landed on top of me, his chest aligning with mine. I wound my hands around his neck and grinned at him in amusement, bringing my lips to his in a tender kiss before I pulled back and kissed his cheek. He gave me a soft look as his hand moved to caress the side of my face, his thumb moving back and forth across my cheek in an affectionate gesture.

'Well done, Kol.' Bekah grumbled as she tried to find a part of the floor she could use to push herself up, Kol looked like he was trying to do the same, but they could only lean on Elena to push themselves up. Thankfully, Finn noticed their predicament and offered Kol a hand and then Bekah, he went to do the same for Elena but Kol beat him to it, pulling her into his arms as soon as she was standing. Nik pushed himself up off the floor and offered me his hand, pulling my back against his chest as he placed his hands on my hips and rested his chin on my shoulder, his face slightly tilting to the side as he inhaled my scent.

'Another game?' I asked cheerfully as I placed my hands over Nik's.

'Later. We don't have much time.' Elijah said, standing from his chair, glancing at the watch on his wrist. I looked over to the clock on the mantelpiece and nodded in understanding.

We had ten minutes before the sun set, which was the perfect amount of time to begin with the plan. Nik called for the nurses to come in, and they did already having the appropriate equipment set up and ready to go. Elena sat on the dining chair that Elijah had vacated and rolled up the sleeves of her emerald green shirt. I felt her anxiety and sent her a wave of reassurance reflexively. The nurses walked over to her and both of them injected a needle into each of Elena's arms, connecting them to a blood bag as they did. The blood started to pour out quickly and the nurses replaced them and repeated the process; there were ten pints of blood in the body and Elena had almost lost four. I moved over to clutch her hand, noting Kol did the same with her other one.

'It's okay,' Elena told us.

'It's not. Ester's lucky she's already dead.' I muttered, pissed that Ester had linked Elena's life to Alaric's in the first place.

Elena laughed lightly, already looking a little weak as the nurses placed the other two now full bags and placed them into the cooler before adding empty ones, they began to fill just as quickly. I swallowed nervously; what if this was all for nothing? What if I was letting my sister die and it came out that her life wasn't tied to Elena's after all? Of course my instincts were assuring me that it was, and Elena's death wouldn't be for nothing but the empathic part of me felt awful and guilty that I was willing to let my sister die for this.

'Listen to me, this is my choice, you have nothing to feel guilty about. I want you to remember that.' She whispered, her voice now incredibly weak as she struggled to keep her eyes open. I nodded tearfully at her as I placed a kiss to her temple and gently ran my hand through her hair as the nurses replaced the blood bags yet again. She had four pints left in her body; once another four bags were full she would be dead. I shivered at the thought as the front door of the mansion slammed open and Alaric walked in, looking livid, though a little peaky.

'Stay with her.' I told Kol as I moved to stand by Nik.

'What are you doing?' Alaric demanded.

'Stopping you.' Elijah answered calmly.

'You would let your own sister die so that the world can continue to be infected with these abominations?' Alaric asked me, looking disgusted and moderately livid.

'I know you're not trying to make me feel guilty for letting my sister make her own decisions.' I muttered, my tone dangerous as I crossed my arms over my chest.

My eyes flickered to Elena and I noticed that the nurses were removing the now blood bags and replacing them with two empty ones; once those two were full she and Alaric would be dead. He seemed to realise this too as he dashed forward, trying to get to her. Bekah caught him off guard and grabbed his wrist, using it as leverage to flip him, causing him to land onto the coffee table with a crash. This didn't seem to deter him as he moved to stand once more, but Elijah calmly but firmly flashed forward and placed a hand to his chest, effectively throwing him into the wall, his head hitting it with a dull crack before he slid down to the floor. Once again his injuries didn't seem to bother him as he set his sights on Elena; I glanced over to her and noticed that the blood bags were half full, my eyes moved back to Alaric when I felt his panic. As he progressed forward, Finn attempted to stop him but Alaric's panic seemed to give him the upper hand and he pushed Finn away; he landed with a crash to the opposite wall. I noticed Alaric's skin started to turn a sickly grey, but before he was completely gone he lunged forward, towards me. Because everyone was expecting him to go for Elena, the distraction provided him with the advantage he needed as he plunged his hand into my chest and ripped out my heart dropping it to the floor with a sickening thud before he followed, his skin now completely grey.

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 _ **Flashback third person P.O.V**_

 _Kol, Elena and Elijah walked from the kitchen and moved into the living room, preparing their part of the plan. When they reached the library Kol took a seat on the sofa that was pushed against the far wall, pulling Elena onto his lap as he did._

' _Are you sure you want to do this, darling?' Kol asked, his voice soft in a way that only happened with Elena._

' _I'm sure.' Elena answered, her voice ringing with finality._

' _As I informed everyone in the kitchen, I am still in possession of another dose of the elixir that you took before the sacrifice, you would come back human as you did before.' Elijah said, sitting on one of the chairs placed at the giant table in the middle of the room._

' _I know, Kim mentioned that as a possibility as well. She said that the elixir would work and she also said that I didn't have to have anything to do with it either.' Elena said, resting her head to Kol's shoulder as she spoke, her voice soft knowing that both of the vampires in the room would be able to hear her._

' _And you still don't, darling.' Kol assured her, squeezing her waist gently, comfortingly before he placed a kiss to her hair._

' _I know I don't, Kol. I want to.' She said, her voice final and ringing with promise. The three of them were aware that Kimberly had asked them to go and complete this phase of the plan without any of the others to give Elena the opportunity to change her mind if she so pleased, but Elena was more than happy to follow through on the decision she had made. Kol stared at her for a long moment, searching her expression for any indication that she didn't want to do this. When he didn't find any he grinned and bought his vampire face forward, biting into his wrist. He offered it to Elena and she took it without hesitation, drinking until Kol assured her that she had taken enough. Elena was going to come back as a vampire and was planning on spending her eternity with her sister, Kol and the rest of the Mikaelson's who she was quickly beginning to consider as family._

 **There's chapter twenty four! I hope you enjoyed it- let me know what you think my lovelies :)**

 **A huge thank you to Cat0602, Tali Alioquin and Ariella81 for choosing to either follow or favourite my story, it means a lot :)**

 _ **Hayden: Kol and Elena finished together?**_ **I'm not sure what you mean by this, but I'm planning on keeping Elena and Kol together forever; I hope this answers your question lovely :)**

 _ **Geminigurl89: Hot! I really enjoy Kim's relationship with the other Original siblings. I'm glad to see her bonding with Kol because he's my favourite character.**_ **Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it; I love Kol as a character too and I love writing his friendship moments with Kim and his sweet moments with Elena. I can't wait to see how it develops :)**


	25. New Beginnings

Chapter Twenty Five

Klaus' P.O.V

'Bekah if you could stop your incessant pacing that would be _lovely_ ,' I muttered my gaze not moving from the technically dead woman on my bed, the woman who I loved, the woman who was a part of this family just as much as she was a part of me.

'Why hasn't she woken up? She had your blood in her system and Elena woke up ages ago!' Bekah said, her voice laced with poorly concealed panic as she gestured over to Elena who was holding Kimberly's other hand.

I sighed; grasping the hand I was holding within my own tighter; that was a question I had forced myself to not think about. She _was_ supposed to be awake by now; she _did_ have my blood in her system; from the morning a few days ago and the extra that I had asked her to take to reassure both me and herself that she would come back should she come into any danger. So why wasn't she waking up?

'I don't know,' I answered her eventually, my voice low, as I rested my forehead on my own hands that had a firm grasp on her left hand.

I felt Elijah place a comforting hand on my shoulder as he sensed my concern; I felt helpless, which was not an emotion I dealt with well. A part of me wanted to scream and threaten the lives of those who could get me the answers I needed. But in that moment the wolf part of me was dominant and was insisting that I stay with my mate. She needed me and I needed her; the ways that all of the legends had described it were true, and yet not to the same extent; there weren't any words that could possibly describe how much Kimberly Gilbert meant to me. She made me whole; she filled the void in my life that I didn't even know needed filling until her, she'd only been gone for two days and I already felt myself slipping into darkness. At the moment it was simply there as a reminder, a reminder of what a life without her would be like; dark, deprived of the brightness, radiance and serenity she had bought into my life. For now the hope that she was going to wake up was the only thing that was keeping me sane, for whatever reason, I _knew_ she was going to be alright; I knew that if she was really gone forever then the darkness would have consumed me the moment that the vampire hunter ripped out her heart.

'All everyone has been talking about is how powerful she will be once she has turned, perhaps it is taking longer for her because of that reason.' Finn suggested from where he was stood at the foot of the bed, with his arms crossed over his chest and his brow furrowed in concern.

'Perhaps,' Elijah agreed.

'She has to wake up, she has to be okay.' Elena murmured, almost too low for me to hear as she grasped Kimberly's right hand tighter, tears streaming down her face.

'She will be okay, darling; this is Kimberly we're talking about,' Kol assured her, placing a kiss on her forehead, which seemed to calm her a little, though his own worry for Kim was still evident from the creases on his forehead.

My mouth twitched into a hint of a smile as I witnessed the gesture, but only for a moment. I was happy that the deadliest of the five Originals had sound someone who could bring out the soft, caring side of him; a side none of us had seen since he had been human. Honestly, I never would have guessed that Elena Gilbert would be the one to bring back his humanity, but all of us agreed that it was nice to see. Though, admittedly, Kimberly had been the first to re-conjure it, from when she first met him, when he woke up from being daggered. He should have been furious with me, he should have been deadly; he was the Mikaelson with the deadliest temper and the one who revelled in revenge, though I came in a close second.

Yet when Finn had propelled that dagger through my hand and Kimberly had felt the wound as well, Kol had rushed to her side in concern. It was almost troubling at how quickly Kim and Kol had hit it off; they made each other laugh in a way that you would usually only see in friendships that had been alive for years, a side of Kol that we had watched Mikael break down piece by piece until it was replaced by a searing hatred for anyone and everyone. Kimberly bought that part of him back without even trying, as if it had never been gone; but I knew it was more than friendship; Kol saw her as a sister like Kimberly saw him as a brother. She was a member of our family and I knew that everyone else thought of her the same way, though we were all still a little cautious of Elena; we had a history with her after all.

'Come, we should all try and get some sleep. If she wakes up I'm sure Niklaus will inform us.' Elijah said, his voice calm and collected, but I could hear the concern that he was trying his hardest to mask.

'No, I-,' Elena protested, but Kol quieted her with a kiss to her temple.

'Come, darling you'd know that she would have our heads if we let you stay here twenty four seven without getting any rest.' Kol murmured to her, his voice soft in a way that only happened when he spoke to Bekah, Kim or Elena.

Elena sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she leaned into Kol's arms that were firmly wrapped around her waist. I didn't look up from Kimberly's face, but I felt everyone silently leave the room after each of them placed a soft kiss to Kim's forehead. Once the door closed with a soft click I rested my forehead against hers, placing a soft kiss to her lips, one of my hands caressing the side of her face as my thumb moved back and forth comfortingly.

'Please wake soon, love. I need you to come back to me.' I whispered, too low for anyone else to hear should they be listening; my words weren't for them, they were for her, 'I- I love you.'

I lay my head on her stomach as I wrapped my hands around her waist, breathing in her scent as I closed my eyes and hoped for sleep to take me. Since she had been in transformation I hadn't slept a wink; it was the same whenever I tried to sleep without her. Clearly I needed her psychological presence as well as her physical presence to feel the calm that only she could bring to me. She had to wake up. I needed her to wake up.

Kim's P.O.V

I felt myself frowning as I tried to open my eyes; I had a pulling feeling in my heart and I somehow just knew that Nik needed me. But for whatever reason, my body wasn't letting me get to him, but I had a feeling that I was _close._ Which was confirmed when I some of my senses returned to me; I was coming back just slower than I would have liked. My hearing was the first thing to return, and yet it wasn't my hearing; I could hear things that I shouldn't be able to; the maids moving to different rooms downstairs as they cleaned, the tap dripping in the down stairs bathroom, Bekah's erratic breathing as she paced back and forth. That was when I realised I was in transition. It broke my heart to hear Elena crying and to feel the concern from every single person in the room and to not be able to do anything about it; I wasn't sure what would happen if I did, I was already weak and I didn't want to risk myself slipping away again.

Next I could _feel_ , I could feel Elena grasping one of my hands as if it was a life raft, while Nik held my other gently between both of his own. I could feel the kisses that everyone placed on my forehead when they came in and again when they left. I could feel Nik holding me tightly as he struggled to sleep at night; I knew he was exhausted and he was worried and it was physically hurting me that I couldn't do anything about it. I noticed the way that my sense of touch was heightened; whenever someone touched me it was as almost as if I felt it with every nerve ending in my body, except with Nik; when he touched me my skin felt like it was on _fire._

I was wondering how long it was going to take me to be able to come back to my family seeing as it had taken me two days to acquire only two senses, but then something happened. Everyone had been standing in my room as usual, their concern paining me, they each kissed my forehead before they left and then I felt Nik rest my forehead against his own before he placed a soft kiss on my lips that made my whole body internally spasm. He removed his lips from mine and caressed the side of my face, stroking back and forth with his thumb, igniting the growing fire further; it was reaching a point that I wondered if it was going to explode out of me.

'Please wake soon, love. I need you to come back to me.' he whispered, loud enough for me to hear but I had a feeling he had deliberately made it so that I would be the only one to hear his soft words, 'I- I love you.' He whispered in the same tone, his voice breaking from the emotion of what he was saying as he placed his head against my stomach, wound his hands around my waist and held me tightly.

His words made the fire explode within my body as if it was being reborn leaving behind my newly transformed DNA. I sat up suddenly, my hands winding in Klaus' hair as I gasped for breath, the air completely extinguishing any traces of the blaze that had scorched within me moments before, though Klaus' touch would always have the same effect on me. My chest rose and fell at a fast rate as my breathing became more erratic. My eyes snapped open and I squinted at the sudden brightness; the lights were overly _bright_ and I was overwhelmed by the mounds of detail that I could suddenly see; the specs of dust flowing throughout the air, the flecks of loose thread on the cushions.

'Love?' A soft voice laced with disbelief and happiness suddenly broke through my concentration; my eyes snapped to the left side of me where Nik was kneeling beside the bed his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

Without another thought I leapt over to him, my arms going around his neck; we both fell backwards, hitting the floor with a loud bang. My head nuzzled into his neck as I inhaled his scent. He smelled like the mixture of smells he always did; whiskey, leather, soap, the woods and a few other things I couldn't quite identify. It comforted me as it usually did; the blanket of calm washing over me, quelling the panic that had arose because my senses had become overwhelmed. Nik chuckled quietly, a sound that was a mixture of amusement and relief as he wound one hand around my waist, the other going to the back of my head and stroking me softly. We both sighed in contentment, gripping each other tighter almost as if to assure ourselves that the other was okay. I pulled back a little so that I could meet his gaze, my hand caressing the side of his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly.

'I love you too,' I whispered, my tone low like his had been before.

Nik's whole face softened while his lips turned up into a grin, highlighting his dimples. I grinned back before I moved down and captured his lips. The way our lips moved against each other's was gentle, tender and adoring; I poured my love for him into the kiss and he seemed to do the same. My hands went to his curls, tugging gently, earning a soft growl in response. I smiled against his lips before I moved to kiss along his jaw, my tongue and teeth licking and nipping as I went. He growled in full now, grabbing my waist and pulling me tighter against him; I smiled again, then I continued on my quest, reaching his earlobe and gently tugging with my teeth. I gasped when I felt myself being flashed over to the bed, landing gently on the soft sheets, we shared a grin before he moved down and kissed along my collarbone, nipping and sucking as he went. I could feel my hips squirming in anticipation as his mouth moved further down, one of his hands moving to one of my legs, moving it to hook around his hip, while the other moved up my shirt, his palm flat against my skin. I grinded my hips against his as my body shivered from the pleasure of his lips on the skin between my breasts. He didn't remove my shirt, but he did bunch it up just above my breasts, giving him access to the majority of my skin. I grinned when he ripped off my bra, throwing the discarded material somewhere behind him, he grinned back, a devilish glint in his eye before he moved down and captured one of my nipples in his mouth. My back arched from the pleasure of it and Nik placed a hand against my stomach to keep me in place, before he moved it to my hip, his thumb moving back and forth, caressing me softly. My hands went to his curls as I moved my other leg to join the other wound around his hips, I grinded against him and he growled once more; it was a sound of barely constrained desire.

'Nik, please.' I whispered, only loud enough for him to hear.

He smiled against my breast before he pulled away, placing a brief kiss where his mouth had been. His eyes met mine as we shared a soft look, both of our gazes containing unhindered desperation for one another, before he blinked and a devilish grin formed on his face as he moved down and tore away my jeans and panties. He went to move to remove his own but in a flash I had him with his back against the mattress, a shocked expression on his face for a moment before it melted into an amused grin, I returned it before I moved down and ripped away his jeans and underwear, tearing his shirt down the middle. He chuckled lightly at my actions and eagerness, his hands going to my hips, his thumbs moving back and forth. I went to connect my mouth with his when I was suddenly flipped onto my back once more, I giggled when my back hit the mattress, only to moan when he entered me in a swift moment. I heard him groan against my neck before his hips started to move against mine roughly, ferociously. My hands went to his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin, drawing blood as I dragged them down. He growled in approval, his hips moving even more urgently against mine, his hands gripping my waist digging his own nails into me, breaking the skin, making me moan in response. I dug the heels of my feet in to his ass as I silently urged him to move even faster, which he did. I vaguely registered the sound of the headboard banging against the wall as I fell over the edge, Nik swallowing my screams of pleasure as his mouth captured mine in a heated, passionate kiss, him following me moments after as he growled against my lips. He pulled back, resting his forehead against mine as we both breathed heavily, getting our breath back.

'Of course, she wakes up and the first thing they do is have sex. I don't even know why I'm surprised,' Bekah huffed from the hallway, making me laugh breathlessly.

'Bekah, darling you know they can't keep their hands off each other. She's been out for two days, they're just making up for lost time.' Kol said, amused.

'One downside of being a vampire so far; hearing my sister having sex with her mate.' Elena said, sounding slightly nauseous.

Bekah and Kol laughed loudly while Finn and Elijah chuckled lightly, I chuckled as well, though I could feel my face flush lightly. Nik nuzzled into my neck, inhaling my scent before he somewhat reluctantly sat up, pulling us both off the bed. I kissed his lips softly before we both dressed in a flash, throwing our now ruined clothes into the bin in the bathroom. I took Nik's hand within mine as we made our way to the door, I pulled him to a stop just before he opened it, he turned to face me without question, which made me smile brightly before I placed a kiss onto his cheek, my lips lingering for a moment before I pulled away. He gave me a soft smile, his eyes dancing with amusement and love for me, feelings that I'm sure he could see in my own eyes.

'You two better hurry up and get dressed or I'm-,' Bekah started but she was cut off when Nik opened the door.

'You'll what?' I asked, my brow quirked in amusement as I looked to her, waiting for her answer.

'Oh thank god, you just saved me from seeing things I could never un-see.' Bekah murmured with a fake shudder.

I laughed brightly while Nik chuckled, his thumb rubbing my hipbone absentmindedly. I stumbled back a step into Nik's chest when a mass of blonde and brown hair suddenly leaped into my arms. Elena and Bekah hugged me tightly, making it a little difficult for me to breathe, but I didn't mind; I could feel how worried they had been so I hugged them back, amplifying the waves of comfort I was sending to them both.

'I'm fine. I promise, I was just in transition.' I assured them, giving them a reassuring smile when they pulled back.

'Well, you were out for nearly three days and Elena was out for twelve hours, forgive us if we were a little worried, bestie,' Kol said, his voice sarcastic as he stood next to Elena.

'What can I say, I have a flare for the dramatic,' I quipped, though in all honesty I had no idea why I had been out for so long.

'I'm glad you haven't lost your quick wit, darling,' Kol laughed.

'Never.' I assured him, before I found myself being pulled into his embrace. I was momentarily surprised due to the suddenness of the gesture, but I soon collected myself and returned the hug, amplifying the waves of comfort just as I had with Bekah and Elena. He pulled back, his smile now much more relaxed as his concern ebbed away.

'Good to have you back bestie.' Kol grinned, kissing my forehead before he moved back to Elena, placing his arm over her shoulders.

'Good to be back.' I grinned, looking to Elijah, as he was the next to step forward, pulling me into a tight hug before he released me without a word, Finn doing the same.

'So… did I miss anything?' I asked, leaning back against Nik's chest as he placed his head on my shoulder, with his hands on my hips, his thumbs moving over my hip bones comfortingly.

'Don't we have more… pressing matters?' Elijah asked, his voice hesitant.

'What do you mean?' I frowned, confused.

'Have you fed?' Finn asked, also confused.

That stumped me for a moment and as soon as he asked the question I could feel the burning in my throat, as well as my stomach; I felt like I hadn't eaten or drank in weeks.

'No, but now that you mention it I'm _starving,'_ I muttered, my hands going over Nik's as I tried to calm myself down.

'You need to feed.' Nik murmured in my ear, worry lacing his tone.

I sent them all a reassuring wave as I took a deep breath, trying to subdue the hunger that had arisen, admittedly the soft kiss that Nik placed behind my ear helped considerably.

'Alright,' I said, my thumbs moving back and forth against the back of his hands.

'Will any blood do or will she need doppelgänger blood?' Bekah asked, crossing her arms over her chest before she continued, 'she's been turned by Nik, right? All of the hybrids he creates need doppelgänger blood to complete the transition.'

'Let's not take any chances,' Kol said, flashing away for a moment before he returned with a blood bag in one of his hands, 'here you go, darling. Drink up.'

He threw the blood bag over to me and I caught it, wrinkling my nose in distaste, even though the blood smelled good it was still my _sister's_ blood.

'Kimmie, it's okay,' Elena assured me, sensing my hesitation.

I sighed in defeat and twisted the top of the bag to open it, bringing it up to my lips and taking a sip, swallowing it before my mind convinced me not to. The burning that I had felt just before I woke up returned, starting at my heart and propelling out to the rest of my body. I gasped at the sudden pain, dropping the blood bag out of my hand as I leaned forward, placing my hands on my knees, biting my lip to stop myself from crying out.

'Love?' Nik said, placing a hand on my back, rubbing up and down comfortingly.

I took his free hand in mine and squeezed it, but otherwise didn't respond as I focused on the fire blazing within me; it reached the tips of my toes and the top of my skull before it withdrew faster than before, back to my heart. It burned for a few more moments before it was gone completely, I sighed in relief looking up into Nik's eyes. He stared back, his own eyes flashing amber before we blinked in unison, his eyes returning to a heavenly blue.

'So I see you're part werewolf as well,' Finn commented, sounding surprised.

'What?' I asked, leaning back to my original position against Nik's chest.

'Your eyes glowed amber, just like mine, love.' Nik murmured into my ear as his head rested against my shoulder.

'I thought you had to be part werewolf for that to happen?' I frowned in confusion.

'Yes, but your mates; it makes sense that as well as sharing the power of an Original that you would share the werewolf power that also resides within Niklaus as well,' Elijah stated, sounding sure.

I thought about it for a moment and I knew that it was true; I was part werewolf as well because of the fact we were mates. I _knew_ that I didn't have any werewolf genes within me before I had turned.

'Yeah that sounds right.' I nodded, agreeing with him.

We moved downstairs to the living room; I was handed a mug of blood that didn't come from Elena. The bag I had dropped had been caught, resealed and added to the rest that had been collected when Elena had been drained of her blood. That had been my idea for two reasons; it was a painless way to die and it meant that Nik would be placated by the fact that he would have ten pints of blood should he need to create anymore hybrids. The blood tasted good, but it wasn't as good as Nik's; as soon as the thought ran through my mind he chuckled and kissed my temple as if he had heard what I said. Then I remembered; when I transitioned we were supposed to be able to read each others minds as well as feel how each other feels. Of course that wasn't any different for me; the empath part of me assured that I could feel what anyone was feeling, though I did notice that Nik's feelings were stronger and heightened to me.

I handed the half finished mug to him as I nuzzled my head into his neck, sighing happily. He took it without complaint, his brow quirking in amusement as he sent me a half smirk.

 _Not hungry, love?_ Klaus asked through his thoughts.

 _Not really, no._ I answered honestly, not opening my eyes as I inhaled and nuzzled further into his neck, _far too comfortable to be hungry, Nik._

He chuckled, placing a kiss to my forehead and pulling me tighter against his chest.

'So if she's part werewolf, part vampire, part empath and part prophet, what does that make her?' Bekah asked, sounding vaguely curious.

I shrugged and grunted but otherwise didn't respond, as my eyes remained closed.

'Don't you care?' Elena asked, sounding confused.

'Not right now, no.' I muttered honestly; I felt too comfortable and relaxed in that moment to care about anything.

'She's a quadbrid. Very powerful and very rare.' Elijah said his voice as calm and collected as it always was.

I hummed in acknowledgement before I sighed in contentment, slipping further and further into sleep. I felt Nik kiss my hair softly again as he softly ran his hands through my hair before sleep claimed me.

Klaus' P.O.V

I heard her breathing even out as she completely melted into my arms, making me chuckle slightly. The effect I had on her never ceased to amaze me; the fact that she could forget about her hunger and her curiosity over what she was simply because I was holding her was incredible. Not only that but she had forgotten about her initial hunger when she had woken up because we had simply consumed each other.

'Is she asleep?' Bekah asked, sounding amused and baffled at the same time.

'She is,' I confirmed, kissing her forehead once more as I continued to run my hand trough her hair, enjoying the softness in between my fingers.

'Unbelievable. She's just been asleep for two bloody-,' Bekah starts complaining half-heartedly before Elena cuts her off.

'You know what she's like whenever Klaus is holding her,' Elena defended.

She was right; even I was fighting to stay awake in that moment, I knew I wouldn't be able to last much longer, especially since I hadn't slept the past two days.

'We'll have to wait until she's conscious to talk about moving then,' Finn said, his voice amused.

'Yes, we will. I think she'll be fine with it though.' Elena said, sounding confident as she leaned against Kol's chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her hair.

'Well, either way, we'll find out in the morning.' I said standing up and lifting Kim with me, she didn't even stir, she only nuzzled into my neck once more, inhaling and sighing happily as if she was satisfied with who was holding her from the scent she had picked up. I gave her a fond smile as I shook my head in amusement and carried her bridal style out of living room.

'Night Nik,' Bekah shouted after me.

'Night little sister,' I shouted back.

I flashed us up to my room, placing her gently onto the mattress. I went to pull away but she gripped onto my shoulders with strength _I_ couldn't break out of. I managed to persuade her to release me before I lay down beside her and pulled her on top of me, her head resting against my chest as her hands wound tightly around my neck, my own going to her waist. She snuggled into my chest and sighed in contentment and I found myself doing the same as my eyes closed and I found myself joining her in sleep. We would discuss us moving to New Orleans tomorrow, but I had a feeling she would be fine with it.

 **That's chapter twenty five for you! I hope you enjoyed it- let me know what you think :)**

 **A huge thank you to KimiKitteh, BeccaSco and digilover23 for choosing to either follow or favourite my story, it means a lot :)**

 _ **Lloryn: So now the question is… will Kim turn because she had Nik's blood… or did she drink the Elixir to stay mortal for now… hmm guess we'll find out with the next update, can't wait.**_ **I decided to turn her; I plan on moving them to New Orleans next and I wanted Kim to be turned for this next step. I hope you enjoyed it :)**

 _ **AishaDream: heyyy I really love ur story. So I wanna ask u if Kim gonna have a baby with Nik?**_ **Thank you so much! I hope you're enjoying it :) I haven't decided yet, but I will really soon :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: cliff hanger x 1000 XDD as always great work :)**_ **Thank you, lovely, I'm glad you liked it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too :)**


	26. Welcome To New Orleans

Chapter Twenty Six

'I've never flown anywhere before.' I admitted as Nik pulled me towards the private jet waiting for us on the tarmac.

'You'll be fine, love. Once we're in the air you won't be able to tell that we're flying.' Klaus assured me, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the side of my hand comfortingly.

'Promise?' I asked, trying to quell the nerves in my stomach.

I gasped when he suddenly pulled us to a stop, yanking me so that my body aligned with his as he rested his forehead against mine, 'I promise, love,' he murmured, placing a soft, comforting kiss to my lips.

'Come on you two, keep moving,' Bekah shouted gesturing for us to walk forward.

'I'm moving, I'm moving,' I muttered, dragging Nik with me.

We all got seated onto the plane, me on Nik's lap, which I was sure, wasn't _technically_ allowed but neither of us cared. I was nervous and Nik's presence calmed me a lot more if he was touching me and if I was surrounded my his scent. I had woken up this morning for everyone to mention the idea of moving to New Orleans. Honestly, I hadn't been surprised; I figured that once any and all threats had been illuminated they would want to get as far away from Mystic Falls as possible, mainly to avoid the Salvatore brothers trying to find another way to kill them all. I swear they needed to get a hobby. I hadn't put up any disagreement to packing up and going to New Orleans; I could tell how much the Original family loved the city and honestly I've never really been anywhere and with Jeremy and Jenna still happy in Denver there wasn't anything keeping us in Mystic Falls. Once I'd agreed Elena and I went back to the house and packed whatever we might need before we went back to the Mikaelson mansion to already find the cars being loaded; they didn't waste any time that was for sure.

'How long until we get there?' Elena asked from the seat across from Nik and me; she was also on Kol's lap.

'Just under four hours. Much quicker to fly than drive.' Elijah answered, not looking up from the book he had bought with him. It was it was a hardback brown book; but there was no title or anything on the front to indicate what kind of book it actually was.

'I would have preferred to drive,' I commented, fighting the urge to nuzzle into Nik's neck; if I did that then I'd fall asleep and miss the plan of action. The main reason the Original family wanted to go back to New Orleans was because they had heard a rumour that someone they thought was dead was in fact running the city: Marcel Gerard. He had spent a few centuries with the family until Mikael had found them and ran them out of New Orleans, but not before burning Marcel to death, or so they had thought.

'You complain over a car journey that is more than two hours, love,' Nik chuckled as he placed a kiss to my hair.

'That's because you kept forgetting to feed me.' I muttered, narrowing my eyes in mock annoyance.

'I don't know how he did that; you're lethal when you're hungry,' Elena said, shuddering in mock fear, making me roll my eyes at her antics.

'Well not lethal enough apparently.' I said, my voice sarcastic.

Nik, Kol and Elena laughed while I just groaned in annoyance, 'you're all so mean to me,' I murmured, dramatically throwing my arm over my eyes when they all continued to snicker.

'Do you think it's true?' Bekah asked from the left of us; she was sat on the sofa that was placed along the opposite side of the plane, she sounded sad and I sent a comforting wave to her in reflex.

'I don't know.' Nik answered her; his voice had a sad edge to it, though it wasn't as strong as Bekah's and I wondered if that had something to do with the fact that he was holding me.

'What if it is?' I asked, looking to Elijah, Nik, Bekah and Kol, 'what are we going to do if it's the same Marcel Gerard you guys remember?'

'We're going to take our city back.' Nik said, his voice firm, 'if Marcel is alive then he has had almost a century to find us.'

'In all fairness, Nik, that works both ways,' I muttered, noting the anger in his eyes when he met my gaze, 'I'm just saying I'm betting your lack of trying to find him is going to be his defence as well.'

'I don't care. That was _our_ city, we built it from the ground and I will take it back,' Nik said, his voice was firm and the anger was evident in his tone, yet I could _feel_ the betrayal and how much the city meant to him; Elijah had told me a little bit about it earlier. New Orleans was the first place in nine hundred years where the Original family, except for Finn, were able to feel some semblance of home; Mikael didn't find them for a long time and they started to grow fond of the beautiful city that they built. So that was why I wasn't going to fight Nik or anyone on this; New Orleans was the first place they called home and they deserved to have that back, though I had a feeling Marcel wasn't going to be generous and just step down from the throne.

' _We_ will take it back.' I corrected him, caressing the side of his face and running my thumb back and forth comfortingly. He closed his eyes for a moment, discretely leaning into my touch. When he opened his eyes again the anger was gone, replaced with complete calm; I could feel how grateful he was that I was taking his side on this, and he placed a kiss to my forehead in silent thanks.

'What are you going to tell him about Kim? If he's known your family for so long he's going to know that you don't have anyone else and he'll want to know how Kim has the power of an Original,' Elena said, her eyes concerned as she looked over to me.

'That is a good question,' I said pointing to Elena in acknowledgement of her inquiry.

'I've been wondering about that myself. I think it would be to our advantage to keep her other powers a secret for now, as well as the fact that she is Niklaus' mate; we don't want that being used against either of you.' Finn said, his fingers entwining in front of his face.

'Okay but how do we explain the Original power she has as well as the werewolf power? She won't be able to hide that.' Bekah commented.

'I actually have an idea for that,' Elijah said, closing his book after he folds the page, placing it gently on his lap.

'Do tell,' I murmur, one of my hands absentmindedly playing with Nik's curls as I turned to Elijah waiting for his answer, 'why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like it?'

Elijah smirked, 'because you have _very_ good instincts.'

'Wonderful.' I muttered, resting my head on Nik's shoulder; he placed a kiss to my temple, calming my nerves.

'How about we say you two are twins?' Elijah said, looking to us to gauge our reaction.

Nik and I share a horrified look while everyone, except for Elijah, bursts out laughing.

'Twins?' I repeat, hoping I had heard him wrong.

'Yes, it isn't that far a leap; your hair colour is similar as are your eyes; that would explain the werewolf jean you both possess as well as the fact that you have the power of an Original.' Elijah said after everyone had quietened down.

'I don't like it,' Nik muttered but I noticed the lack of conviction in his tone and the others did too.

'Neither do I,' I said, nodding to sound more threatening.

'Well if you have any other ideas, be my guest,' Elijah said, gesturing for us to talk while his eyes twinkled with amusement.

Nik and I shared a look as we communicated through our thoughts.

 _Tell me you have a genius plan, Nik._ My eyes were pleading.

 _I wish I did, love, believe me. If we're pretending to be family then it means…_ His eyes hardened as his thought trailed off.

 _That we're going to have to keep our hands to ourselves in public._ I felt my own eyes harden in realisation before I continued; _we're going to have to do this aren't we?_

 _I'm afraid so, love._ He rested his forehead against mine as we both sighed in defeat simultaneously.

'Fine.' I muttered, before I placed a soft kiss to Nik's jaw and turned to face everyone else, 'what's the rest of the story?'

'Mikael had a witch put you into a deep sleep and cloaked your location. He detested the both of you because you were both children derived from an affair and to punish you and Niklaus he kept you apart. The cloak was broken when Mikael died and we found you, for the past few weeks we have been helping you adjust to the twenty first century.' Elijah said, his voice so calm and matter of fact I almost believed him myself.

'Who's older?' I asked.

'Niklaus by a few minutes, we don't know the time for certain as it wasn't very well measured a thousand years ago.' Elijah answered without hesitation.

'Why did my werewolf gene get activated when Nik was the only one to do the ritual?' I inquired.

'Your twin bond ensures that you share the same blood, therefore when Niklaus broke the curse it ensured that the curse broke for you as well.' Elijah responded, without reluctance, making me think he had already thought about these questions himself.

'Okay. I don't have anymore questions.' I said, resting my head in the crook of Nik's neck, inhaling.

'Good, it's settled then,' Elijah said before he continued, seeming to remember something else, 'keep your marks covered, we don't know his extent of knowledge; he could recognise them for what they are.'

Klaus and I both frowned at this; I didn't like the idea of keeping my mark covered, it felt wrong, the whole point of a mark is to make sure others know that you are taken, claimed by another. Covering it seemed to imply that we weren't and I didn't like it; and the reluctance I felt coming from Klaus made me believe he felt the same way, though we both knew that it was necessary so we didn't put up too much of a fight.

'It's going to be interesting to see how long you two can keep your hands off each other,' Kol chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender when Nik and I turned to glare at him, both of our eyes flashing amber.

The rest of the flight passed pretty quickly, for me at least; I ended up falling asleep on Nik's lap for the remaining two hours after we had the details confirmed. When we landed a car met us on the runway to take us to the house we would be living in for the time being; it was huge, the house and the land that surrounded it. Nik mentioned that it was the plantation where they had first met Marcel; Nik had saved him from a man who used him as a slave and beat him for sport. According to Elijah, Nik saving Marcel had been an act of kindness he hadn't seen Nik exhibit in centuries and it had given him hope that his humanity still resided inside him; Nik had taken him in and raised him as if he was his own son. When he told me this I noticed that Nik's betrayal towards Marcel seemed to grow and flourish; that was why he was so determined to get his kingdom back because he felt as if his own son had deceived him for the throne.

Once Nik had compelled a few workmen to unload our luggage, we all decided to go and meet the infamous Marcellus. Personally, I was nervous; I even had to speak in a British accent, something that made me feel like a fraud, but I was assured that it sounded genuine. I blamed my obsession with Sherlock Holmes; I knew every line to every episode and I often said the lines with the actors, accent and all. I linked my arm through Nik's as we walked down the bustling streets of the city, so far I loved what I saw; the city seemed to be alight with life and energy. I had never seen anything like it before; it was incredible.

 _You like it here, love?_ Nik asked.

 _I do, it's beautiful,_ I answered honestly, grinning brightly at him, and he smiled back.

 _I had a feeling you would._ Nik smiled, his eyes soft as he regarded me.

I went to kiss his jaw but I was kept in place by a hand on my shoulder, I looked over and saw that the hand belonged to Elijah. Nik growled under his breath in warning but Elijah ignored him as he gave me a look and I sighed, remembering that any touching that surpassed familial was off limits in public. I nodded to show my understanding before I turned back to Nik.

 _I'm gonna have to keep my distance from you while we're in public, Nik, or I'll slip up, I know I will._

 _Alright love._ Nik answered, I could feel and see his reluctance as I unlinked my arm from his, squeezing his hand once to amplify the comfort I was sending towards him before I walked over to Bekah and linked my arm through hers, biting back a sigh as the pull in my heart made itself known, urging me to go back to him. I knew he was feeling the same way and that made me worse.

'Cheer up, sis.' Bekah said, her voice cheerful as she patted my hand.

I smiled genuinely when I sensed how honestly happy she was; her and the rest of the Original family seemed to brighten up when we returned here; even Finn who wasn't actually alive at the time and Nik, though his happiness was slightly hindered as we separated from each other. This had been a home for them once and I could feel their hope that it could be like that once again. I kissed Bekah on the cheek as we continued walking down the street; I moved to zip up my jacket, feeling a little cold. I asked about that; apparently the werewolf side of me assured that I still felt temperature and craved heat whilst ensuring that I still had a detectable heartbeat. My jacket wasn't very thick; I was wearing black high waisted skinny jeans, a pink lacy crop top, my black leather jacket and black ankle boots. My hair, as always, was down, my lose dark blonde curls falling down my back and around my shoulders. Bekah had tried to convince me to wear make up but I refused, not seeing the point of enduring the torture just to go into the city and confront Marcel, though I did allow her to use make up to cover up the mark in the crook of my neck. Nik and Elijah walked in front, leading the way, while Bekah and I walked behind them, Kol and Elena behind us and Finn at the very back. We came to a stop outside of a bar called Rousseau's for a moment before Nik walked forward and opened the door, entering the establishment without further hesitation.

'How do you know he's here?' Kol asked as him, Nik, Elijah and Bekah all scanned the bar for who they were looking for.

'I got word from a group of vampires I heard talking on the way into the city,' Nik answered, his tone impatient.

'Well, while you lot look for him, I'm going to get a drink,' I said, being sure to use my British accent as I took Finn and Elena by the hand and dragged them with me; it was only fair seeing as we had no idea what Marcel even looked like. I took one of the empty stools and took my jacket off, hanging it off the back of my chair. I held up my hand for the barman and was surprised when he stepped in front of me immediately.

'What can I get for you, sweetie?' He asked, his voice overly sweet as he smiled at me in a way that reminded me of a shark, I hid my discomfort as I answered him.

'I'll take three whiskey's please.' I replied.

'Coming right up, on the house,' he winked at me before he turned around to fill the glasses. I looked over to Finn and Elena who were sat on stools to my left giving them a baffled look; Elena was trying her best to hold in her laughter while Finn looked absolutely livid. I placed my hand on his arm, amplifying the comfort I was sending to him as I gave him a reassuring squeeze before I pulled away; we shared a soft smile before the barman placing the drinks in front of me broke it.

'There you go, honey.' He winked again as he leaned against the bar in front of me, showing no signs of moving.

'Go away,' I compelled; he was freaking me out and I just wanted him to leave me alone before either Finn or I killed him; Elena was more amused than anything else.

'We should toast,' Elena suggested as she picked up her glass.

'To finding a home in New Orleans,' I said, lifting my glass, they both clinked theirs against mine as they repeated my words. Elena and Finn merely sipped their drink but I drank mine in one go, leaning over the bar to steal an open bottle of whiskey after I made sure that the barman was occupied with another customer.

'You're not as innocent as you look are you?' A male voice asked from behind me and I turned to see an African-American man standing behind me, his brown eyes glistening with amusement as he grinned at me.

'Innocent is not something I would never claim to be,' I answered before I turned around, filling up my glass and ignoring whoever it was, hoping he would go away.

'Hmm… my kind of girl,' he countered as he slipped into the empty stool to my right.

'I'm not interested in being anyone's girl, thank you very much,' I said, not even bothering to look in his direction as I slammed back my drink and refilled the glass again.

'And you can handle your whiskey, impressive,' I could feel his determination as well as his attraction to me which made me shudder inwardly.

'Obviously, I'm not making myself clear,' I said, downing my drink and slamming the empty glass to the bar as I turned to the man sitting beside me, 'I'm _not_ interested, the quicker you register that in your thick skull the less pain you will have to endure.'

'Fiery little thing, aren't you?' He grinned, not threatened in the slightest.

I felt a sickly, deadly smile take over my face, which he obviously didn't recognize as a threat as he moved to put his hand on my arm. I looked down at it and sighed, shaking my head as if I was disappointed, 'well, you can't say I didn't warn you.'

In a flash I had his arm twisted at an awkward angle as I held it behind his back and pinned him to the bar; I could feel his pain but he was determined to keep it from registering on his face.

'You're stronger than you look.' He commented.

'You know, I get that a lot,' I muttered as I twisted his arm tighter, 'apparently that means that I cannot enjoy a nice drink with my family without being hit on by men who cannot take no for an answer.'

'Alright, calm down.' He said, holding his other arm up in a defensive gesture, but I was pretty sure he was calling off the other men who had gathered around poised to attack.

'Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't kill you right now.' I said, twisting his arm even more, managing to draw out a cry of pain from in between his lips.

'Because-' he went to answer with what I was sure was a smart-ass comment but before he could finish, Nik cut him off.

'Come on, sister. I leave you alone for five minutes and you're already threatening death,' Nik smirked, amusement glittering in his eyes though I could feel his anger and I wondered how much of the encounter he had witnessed, 'though as it goes, you've actually found the man we're looking for.'

' _This_ is Marcel?' I asked, disbelief in my tone as I looked over to the man again, refusing to loosen my grip on him, he looked confused as to who I was but I saw the recognition on his face as he heard Nik's voice. With a sigh I pulled him back from the bar and pushed him away from me, 'well if you could keep your _friend_ on a tighter leash that would be _wonderful,'_ I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest as I met Marcel's death glare with one of my own.

'It's good to see you, Marcellus.' Klaus said, a fake smile on his face that would have fooled me if I couldn't feel the anger that was bubbling within him. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, Bekah and Elijah flanking him either side while Kol stood next to Elena's chair.

'If I'd known you were coming to town…' Marcel's voice trailed off as he eyed up the Original siblings that he recognized, before his eyes flickered between me, Finn and Elena as if he was trying to work out who we were, 'I would have thrown you a damn parade!' He laughed, clapping Klaus on the back.

I snorted at his blatant lie but otherwise remained silent as I leaned back, resting my elbows on the bar and crossing my ankles. I could feel Elena's nerves and I sent a comforting wave towards her, but I didn't look in her direction not wanting to divert Marcel's attention to her.

'Well I already know most of your family,' Marcel started, nodding to Elijah, Bekah and Kol in greeting, his eyes flickering over to the tree of us at the bar again before he looked back to Nik, 'but who are your other companions?'

Nik didn't say anything for a long moment as he smirked at Marcel, I could feel the tension crackling in the air and it was making me nervous as to what was going to happen.

'We like to remain nameless, it's part of our charm,' I said, breaking the tension as I forced my voice to be bright, 'more mysterious that way.'

Marcel, Nik and Kol laughed, while Elijah and Finn's lips merely twitched in amusement, while both Elena and Bekah were too on edge to react.

'This is Elena, Kol's girl,' Nik said, finally getting to the introductions as he nodded in Elena's direction, she offered up a wave but otherwise didn't react.

'Never thought I'd see the day when the deadliest of the Mikaelson's settled down,' Marcel chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief before he continued, 'good for you man, she seems lovely.'

I could feel Kol's anger and I sent a comforting wave to him immediately, not waning his anger to reach dangerous levels in that moment, his eyes flickered to mine as he gave me a grateful look, before his expression became blank as he regarded Marcel.

'This is my oldest brother, Finn.' Nik continued, snapping Marcel and Kol out of their stare down as he nodded to Finn who was sat next to me.

'I've heard a lot about you, man. Nice to finally meet you,' Marcel said, returning Finn's nod before his eyes flickered over to me, waiting for an introduction; I could feel his impatience and I didn't like it.

'This is my twin sister, Kimberly.' Nik finished, not bothering to gesture to me as Marcel was already looking in my direction. I could feel Nik's uneasiness at the way Marcel was staring at me and I sent him a reassuring wave in instinct.

'I would say nice to meet you but you've already ruined your hopes of making a good first impression,' I said bluntly, smiling dangerously.

Marcel laughed, not threatened in the slightest, which annoyed me more; if he wasn't careful my anger was going to reach a point that I do something I just might regret.

'Twin sister? How did I never hear about her?' Marcel asked, his tone was casual but I could feel his interest as well as him desire to know the truth.

'Never you mind,' I said, sitting in my stool and resting my head on Bekah's shoulder as she came to stand beside where I was sitting.

'Now, sister, be nice,' Nik fake scolded as he smirked at me, his amusement only growing when I narrowed my eyes at him, 'forgive her, she gets her temper from our father.'

'How would we know that?' I snorted, raising my eyebrow in question.

'Good point,' he laughed, before he continued, 'I meant the man who raised us and hunted us for centuries.'

'Thank you for the clarification,' I mock saluted him before I reached for the open bottle of whiskey behind me as I took a long drink.

'Anyway, mine and my sister's story is a long one reserved for another day.' Klaus finished, his tone final, clearly unwilling to divulge anything to him today.

'Awe but I was looking forward to story time,' Bekah piped up, the shoulder I was leaning in jolting slightly as she moved to cross her arms.

'Me too,' Kol said, smirking at Nik.

'Me three,' Elena added with a laugh, holding out her glass in my direction for a refill, I poured the whiskey into her glass before I took another gulp from the bottle.

'Right then,' Nik said, sounding annoyed which made me laugh a little, he heard me and his eyes met mine, amusement glittering in them for a moment before his mask was in place once again. Klaus explained our entire history; well the fake history that Elijah had come up with and Marcel listened, completely enraptured and fascinated by they whole tale. I could tell that he believed what Nik was saying; I assumed that his meeting with Mikael assured him that he was capable of doing something like putting his daughter in a slumber to punish the son he considered an abomination. Honestly from what I knew of Mikael, it wouldn't surprise me either.

'So she's been in a slumber for almost a thousand years?' Marcel asked, shocked.

'My dear father placed me in a slumber after the ritual that our mother performed to suppress the werewolf gene that we both triggered at the same time.' I informed him, placing the bottle of whiskey on the bar.

'When Niklaus killed him the cloaking spell that was over her lifted and we were able to locate her,' Elijah finished.

'All very complicated,' Nik said sarcastically.

'Here, here,' Elena said, taking the bottle I had placed on the bar and drinking from it.

'I think you should slow down, darling,' Kol said, placing an arm around her waist as he chuckled.

'Why?' Elena slurred, her expression one of confusion.

'Because you're pissed, Lena,' I said shaking my head and reaching over Finn to take the bottle from her.

'I am _not!'_ she disagreed, trying and failing to keep the bottle in her hand. She nearly fell off the stool in her effort to get it back and Kol tightened his grip on her waist to keep her in place. I shared a look with Kol and he nodded at me, helping Elena down from the stool gently, supporting her weight as she heavily leaned on him.

'I'm gonna get her out of here,' Kol said, not waiting for an answer as he led Elena out of the bar.

'Anyway, what brings you back here after all these years?' Marcel asked as he led us over to a booth that was big enough to seat all of us. I ended up in between Elijah and Nik with Marcel sitting on his own across from us.

'We were all deciding where we should relocate to next after we woke our long lost sister,' Nik answered, placing his arm across my shoulders and leaving it to rest there, placing his other over Bekah's shoulders who was sat on the other side of him to avoid suspicion, 'and we all remembered how good New Orleans was to us all those years ago before we were forced to flee. Thought we might come back, make ourselves a permanent home here.'

'Something tells me we aren't going to me welcomed with open arms,' I muttered dryly as I felt Marcel's displeasure over the news.

'I hope you're wrong about that, sister.' Elijah said beside me, his tone calm but the underlying threat was evident.

'I'd be happy to welcome you into _my_ town, so long as you follow the rules, what is mine is yours, of course.' Marcel grinned, gesturing for a round of drinks for us all.

Nik and I smirked and shared a look as we both noted his emphasis on the fact that New Orleans was considered as _his_ town. Our smirks only grew when his eyes flickered in between us both with an uneasy smile on his face; he was wary of me because he didn't know what I was like, though the fact that he believed I was Nik's twin probably wasn't giving him much hope that I wouldn't have the same temper. I kept my smirk in place as Nik and I had a silent conversation.

 _What do you think, love?_

 _I think we should play by his rules. For now at least; I think there's something we're missing._

 _Alright._ He nods his head ever so slightly, before we both turn back to Marcel in unison; I send a wave of reassurance to the rest of the Mikaelson's to silently tell them our approach.

'What _are_ the rules, just out of curiosity?' Elijah asked, picking an invisible piece of lint off his trouser leg.

'No feeding off or killing the locals; no werewolves,' Nik and I share an amused glance at that one and he notices, 'aside from you two and no magic. The blood never stops flowing and the party never ends.'

'So unless you're a vampire or a tourist in this town you're fucked?' I asked, not liking the way that he had banned the wolves and the witches; it made sense in a way I supposed, a werewolf bite was toxic to a vampire and witches could easily kill a vampire but then again that worked both ways. Werewolves were really only a threat on a full moon, aside from me and Nik, and witches didn't get involved in vampire business unless they had to; cutting them off from using their magic was just going to make them even more pissed and vengeful for when they got their powers back, which they would.

'Basically,' Marcel grinned in a way that made me want to punch him in the face, I felt my hand form a fist on my lap and Nik discretely rubbed his thumb back and forth over the back of my shoulder to calm me down when he sensed my anger.

'Actually I have to run, I have some business with a particular witch who disobeyed my rules.' Marcel said as one of the men who had rushed to his aid earlier gestured to him.

'Would you mind if I accompanied you? I'm rather curious to see how you run this town first hand.' Nik said with a smirk.

'Me too,' I agreed; I had a feeling that the witch wasn't going to meet the best fate and I wanted to be able to take her pain if possible.

'Of course.' Marcel grinned, though his reluctance was cascading off him in waves.

Bekah, Finn and Elijah came along as well; we trailed behind Marcel as he led the way. He walked with determination and obvious arrogance; it was clear that his status over the city was what gave him his confidence; all of the vampires he passed nodded to him in respect and some cowered in fear. I had my arm linked through Nik's while Bekah had hers linked through one of Finn's and one of Elijah's. We reached the end of a street that was over run with vampires; they were everywhere and they were all hungry for blood; I could feel their eagerness over the fact that they were about to watch a witch be punished for using her magic. Marcel walked through the crowd and they parted for him without question, allowing us to walk through as well, before it closed behind us. I subconsciously stood closer to Nik; I didn't like the blood thirst I was feeling from every person I walked past. Marcel came to a stop and Nik moved us so to his right while Bekah, Finn and Elijah moved to his left so we could all see what was happening. No more than ten feet in front of us there was a woman being held on her knees with chains, two vampires standing behind her to ensure she stayed in place. I could feel her fear, but I also noticed with slight shock that she had made peace with the fact that she was probably going to die, as if it was _meant_ to happen. I took her fear and replaced it with calm in instinct and when I did I noticed her confusion and her eyes immediately flickered to me, and I felt her recognition as if she knew who I was, but I had never met this woman before in my life.

'Kimberly Mikaelson,' She whispered, too low for any human to hear but of course there weren't any humans around in that moment, I felt everyone's confusion as well as my own as I frowned.

'Do I know you?' I asked, breaking the deadening silence as everyone stared at me.

'No, ma'am you do not, but I know of you; the magical community has been buzzing with the news of the long lost Original sister.' She smiled, and it was a kind smile; when I focused on her I could feel that she was genuinely happy that I was here.

'What the bloody hell for?' Bekah asked, pulling the attention away from me.

'Because-,' She started to answer but Marcel cut her off, clearly unhappy with the fact that he was losing control of the situation.

'Anyway, let's move this along, shall we?' Marcel shouted, holding his fist in the air, and the other vampires returned the gesture as they cheered, he walked up to the witch, a malicious grin on his face, 'let's give it up for Jane Ann! Come on, Jane Ann!' He shouted to the crowd and they cheered and whistled back.

'You have been accused of the practice of witch craft beyond the bounds of the rules set forth and enforced by _me_ ,' he started, his cruel grin never wavering, 'how do you plead?'

'I didn't do anything,' Jane Ann answered, but I could tell she was lying, and apparently, Marcel could as well.

'Oh, that's a lie I know it, you know it and you _hate_ that I know it,' he smiled and he turned to look at the crowd for a moment before he turned back to Jane Ann a smug grin on his face, 'it drives you witches crazy that I'm aware of your every move. You can't do magic in this town without getting caught so, why don't we just cut to the chase, huh?' He said, his hands picking a few loose leaves still attached to the branch I hadn't realized he had been holding until that moment, 'you tell me what magic you're brewing, tell me, I'll grant you leniency. I am after all, a merciful man,' he grinned, stepping closer to her as he did; I could feel her fear grow and I took it without hesitation.

I could feel her gratitude before she looked Marcel straight in the eye and answered him, her tone unwavering, 'rot in hell, monster.'

I could feel Marcel's anger at her answer and I knew that she was going to die within the next few minutes, he was silent for a long moment before he looked to her, 'I'll tell you what. I'll give you one more chance…' he trailed off as he turned around, but I knew he was lying, which was confirmed as he turned around and swung the branch with enough force to slit her throat, 'or not.'

She gasped, her hands going to her throat as she tried to breathe to no avail, I took her pain and her discomfort, replacing it with calm; I could see the peace in her eyes before she fell onto her back, dead. The vampires cheered like they were at a concert demanding an encore from their favorite band, and it made me sick; I could feel the Original's discomfort over Marcel's little show as well, though they were all hiding it from their expressions, just like I was. The vampires all wondered off in groups after the show was over, leaving Marcel to walk over to us, still chuckling from what he had just done.

'Well that was quite the show,' I commented.

'Why thank you.' He laughed, rubbing his hands together as if he was itching to do it all over again.

'It wasn't a compliment,' Nik said, his brow quirking to show his amusement towards me before his expression became concrete as he looked over to Marcel, 'what was that?'

'That was me enforcing my rules; mercy is for the weak, remember? You taught me that,' Marcel said, clapping his shoulder onto Klaus' back with a smile on his face, 'I have to go and talk to my day walkers, make sure there aren't any other issues that need to be dealt with, then I'm all yours.'

We waited until he was gone from earshot before we all turned to each other.

'How the hell did she know who Kim was?' Bekah asked, astonished.

'I would like to know an answer to that myself.' I said, clutching Nik's arm a little tighter as my nerves increased.

'Well we can't exactly find out now she's dead can we?' Nik said, discretely rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb in a comforting gesture, soothing me slightly.

'Perhaps she has family we can locate?' Finn offered.

'Good idea, Finn! Give me a second,' I said squeezing Nik's arm once before I walked over to one of the vampires that had been crowded around during the debacle a few minutes ago and tapped him on the shoulder; he was an African- American man with an afro and wearing a black leather jacket.

'Hello, beautiful what can I do for you?' He asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a huge grin on his face.

'That witch that was just slaughtered, did she have any other witches in her family?' I asked, trying to hide my distaste over the attraction I could feel he had for me.

'What would a pretty thing like you, want with a witch?' He asked, smirking.

'Never you mind. Do you know or not?' I said, my anger and frustration growing.

'Why should I tell you?' His flirty demeanor suddenly dropped and I had to bite back my sigh of relief.

'Because I asked nicely, and with the mood I'm in I'm only going to do that once.' I felt my eyes flash amber in warning and thankfully he answered me fairly quickly once he realized whom I was and I had the ability to kill him with a single bite.

'Apparently she has a sister that works in the kitchen at Rousseau's,' I said brightly as I walked back over to them pausing when I noticed their collective amusement, 'what?'

Nik went to answer but he was cut off when my phone started ringing, I answered it without looking at the caller I.D.

'Hello?'

'Darling, could you be a dear and gather the others and meet me and Elena at the cemetery? There's a witch here that is claiming to know something about you but she won't fess up until we're all together.' Kol said, sounding annoyed.

'This witch's name doesn't happen to be Sophie does it? I asked, already knowing the answer.

'Ah, so you've heard of her? Fantastic.' Kol muttered, his voice sarcastic.

'We're on our way, Kol.' I hung up the phone and seeing as they heard every word of the conversation Nik, Elijah and me made our way to the cemetery while Bekah and Finn remained to make sure none of Marcel's minions followed us. It didn't take us too long to get to the cemetery; Nik and myself followed Elijah with our vampire speed, but when we actually got there we couldn't step in.

'What is the meaning of this?' Nik demanded.

'This is sacred ground, you have to be invited in,' a young brunette woman standing just behind the gates informed us.

'Right, well, be a dear and invite us in,' Nik said with a smirk which I mirrored as I pointed to him and muttered, 'what he said.'

'Normally I wouldn't dream of inviting any vampires onto our sacred ground-' She started but I cut her off.

'Well I'm not exactly a vampire, so don't worry about it,' I winked to her, sarcasm my best friend; Nik chuckled before he agreed with me, 'she has a point, sweetheart. Last time I checked I was still half werewolf.'

'Kimberly, Niklaus, please.' Elijah said with a frustrated sigh.

'Sorry, you were saying?' I asked, gesturing for her to continue.

'But I'm desperate, so come on in.' She stepped back to allow us to walk over the threshold, we did and she walked off straight away, Nik and I shared a raised eyebrow look before we trailed after her. She walked into a crypt that was glowing with candlelight, as soon as we walked in I noticed that Elena and Kol were there, looking pissed.

'So… they're here, you can spill the beans now, darling.' Kol muttered, his hand tightening around Elena's waist in a protective gesture.

'You've only been here a few hours and I'm sure that you've heard about the way that Marcel is running this city.' She started, walking towards the back of the crypt to pick up a knife, 'my sister gave her life to complete a spell and to confirm whether you had been introduced to your mate.' Sophie stated, gesturing in between Klaus and me.

'Why?' I asked bluntly.

'Because your unity is something that has been talked about among the witching community for hundreds of years. We knew that you would find your mate, and when Jane Ann completed the spell to confirm it we knew you would come here, to the place you considered home all those years ago.' She stated, her tone very matter of fact but I could feel her desperation; she was counting on her plan working so that her sisters death won't have been for nothing, 'with all of you here Marcel won't stand a chance against you.'

'What has that got to do with you?' Nik asked as he stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back and a dangerous smirk on his face, 'we can take over this city and we _will_ but why do I have the feeling that you have something up your sleeve?'

'Because you're not stupid. I have linked my life to your brother's girlfriend, to your mate's sister, so if you don't help me remove Marcel from the throne by following _my_ rules, I will make sure that she dies with me.' Sophie said, crossing her arms over her chest in a clear act of defiance.

'And say we don't believe you...' Kol states, but I could already tell that she was being deadly serious.

Sophie held up the knife she had picked up before allowing it to glisten in the candlelight, 'I had a feeling you would say that.' She muttered before she dragged the blade along her left palm, opening the skin on her hand as well as the skin on Elena's.

'Are you forgetting she's a vampire? There are plenty of ways we could kill you that wouldn't kill her.' Nik said, sounding annoyed that she had the audacity to blackmail him.

'Jane Ann giving her life made it so that despite her being a vampire, if I die, no matter how then she dies with me.' Sophie said and I felt my heart drop when I realized she was telling the truth.

'Brilliant!' I muttered, agitated and moderately defeated; I didn't want my sister to be in harms way like this, but realistically if she was going to link herself to anyone it would have had to be her, the rest of us were truly immortal.

Nik placed his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side as his thumb moved back and forth across my hipbone comfortingly; I wrapped my arm around his waist and melted against him, relaxing immediately.

'So, what is this master plan of yours?' Kol asked, also annoyed, though I noted that Elena's touch was helping keep his temper in check.

And so we all stood, listening to Sophie's plan to destroy Marcel; I could tell that there was something that she was hiding, something she wanted from Marcel and that was why she refused Nik's suggestion of just killing him on the spot. Because of that, I knew I wouldn't fully trust her, but I would adhere to the plan, not just to save Elena, though that was the majority of the reason, but because I hated the way Marcel was running the city; forcing people to be what they weren't, not letting witches use their magic and not letting werewolves into the quarter. They deserved to be what they were and not brushed to the side just because the vampires were threatened by them. We would take this kingdom back and we would build it stronger than what it was before, with all species living in harmony.

 **And that's chapter twenty six! I'm sorry if you thought this was a little rambly but this chapter is in place to lay the foundation for the rest of the season, so I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Let me know what you think! :)**

 **A huge thank you to Naixira-chan, IRunWithWolves18, Imagineer1392 and srodonnell for choosing to either follow or favorite my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **BeccaSco: Adorable! Loved it.**_ **Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: Finally! Love it! Kol got a happy ending (right now) with Elena, can't wait to see more of them :) Klaus/Kim Fan XD Curious as to how you're gonna write New Orleans, without Hope'**_ _ **thinking face**_ _ **' And is Hayley gonna come into it too? Elijah/Hayley?**_ **Thank you! I'm happy you're enjoying it! And for now, I've decided not to make Kim pregnant but we'll see if that changes because I like the whole story line with Dalia and the idea of being able to introduce Freya. As for Hayley… we'll see ;)**


	27. Offering A Helping Hand

Chapter Twenty Seven

'I will take a double' I said to the blonde serving behind the bar, I noted that her nametag said 'Cami', though she vaguely reminded me of Caroline.

'You look like you could use it,' she said, giving me a friendly smile, 'though I'm going to need to see some I.D.'

'Really?' I asked brightly; I _never_ got asked for I.D.- I was starting to worry that I looked older than my age and that was never a fun thought. I pulled out my phone from my back pocket, removed the case and handed her my driver's licence; it was easier to stash it there than carry a purse around. It had already been modified of course, it had my name as Kimberly Mikaelson and the address was of the mansion back in Mystic Falls with my birthdate still the same.

'Alright, that's fine.' She smiled handing me back the I.D. before she poured me my drink and slid it over, I went to pay her but she held her hand out, 'on the house. Happy birthday.'

I hid my shock, holding my glass towards her in a gesture of thanks before I took a sip. It was my birthday? I checked my phone and it confirmed it; November the 17th, I would be twenty-one if I hadn't stopped aging a few days ago. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten, but then again with everything that had been going on the past few weeks I wasn't completely surprised. Although it was really only a few minutes into my birthday; Elena, Kol, Finn, Elijah and Bekah had gone back to the plantation after Sophie had filled us in on what she wanted the first few steps of the plan to be, which was where Nik was now; he was going to bite one of Marcel's day walkers. According to Sophie, those with daylight rings were considered as family so infecting one with a werewolf bite was bound to get to him. I had insisted on going for a drink at Rousseau's, the bar I was pretty certain was going to become the new local; it had been a long day and Cami was right; I _needed_ a drink. A few strong drinks later I decided that I should probably get back home before Nik sent out a search party, though rather than flashing back I opted to stroll through the quarter; it was still littered with vampires feeding off tourists, but as I walked further along the streets became quieter, more peaceful. The cold night air hit my lungs and made me feel refreshed as she autumnal weather always did; it relaxed me, calmed me and allowed me to think clearly.

'Werewolf in the quarter? Oh, this is going to be fun! I call dibs!' A male voice said; I could feel his eagerness over spilling innocent blood and it made my own blood boil.

'Hey, wolf, hasn't anyone told you that werewolves are banned from the quarter?' Another male voice asked, I flashed in the direction of the voices using my vampire speed and managed to reach them just as the woman answered.

'No, funnily enough that was kept out of the brochure,' the woman answered, sarcasm dripping from her voice, though I could feel her fear; a werewolf up against two vampires without a full moon wasn't likely to end well for her.

'Aw, I love the funny ones, they make it so much more _fun,'_ One of the vampire's said; I couldn't make out any facial features because I was standing behind them, but from the smugness radiating from him I imagined that he had a sickly smile on his face.

'And I _love_ the smug ones, the expressions they make when they get beaten by a girl are just _hilarious.'_ I said, my arms crossed over my chest as I flashed to stand beside the woman. I could feel her surprise at my sudden appearance and her apprehension as to why I was so willing to help her when I was clearly part vampire myself.

'Who the hell are you?' The smug one asked, looking at me as if I were a piece of dirt on his shoe.

'I'm a Mikaelson, sweetie.' I said, my voice sickly sweet, though the threatening edge was clear.

'You're not Rebekah,' The other one argued, I could feel that they didn't believe me and I knew that this was only going to end one way.

'No, well done for that distinction,' I started, flashing forward and plunging my hands into their chests, grasping their hearts, 'I'm Kimberly, I would ask you to spread that around seeing as everyone is having trouble remembering that, but you're not going to live long enough to do that.' I yanked their hearts from their chests as soon as I finished speaking, dropping them to the floor on top of their greying corpses. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the blood all over my hands, but before I could think too much of it I was handed a bottle of water and a towel by the girl who was still stood next to me.

'The least I could do, seeing as you just saved my ass.' She said, a reluctant smile pulling up at the corners of her mouth.

'Don't worry about it, honey,' I said, dousing my hands with the water before I wiped the remaining blood away, 'but for future reference, I would avoid the quarter.'

'I don't know if I can…' She trailed off, and I paused when I could feel the genuine sadness coming from her, though she was doing a good job at controlling her expression.

'What do you need?' I asked her, placing a hand on her arm to offer her some semblance of comfort.

'Why do you care?' She replied, her tone cautious, which made my heart hurt a little; she wasn't used to people helping her without a motive.

'Because if you're willingly here then whatever your motive is, it was worth risking your life for,' I told her honestly; I didn't know who she was or what she wanted but I had a good feeling about her and I knew that she deserved help.

'I'm looking for my family. I was put up for adoption when I was young but they threw me out when I triggered my werewolf curse.' She admitted, linking her arm through mine as we walked.

'Do you have any information on them?' I wondered aloud as I led her towards the plantation, it should take us a little longer to get there, so it was the perfect time to talk.

'Just that the pack I belonged to lived in New Orleans and that it was named the Crescent Moon pack.' She told me after a long moment.

'Well, I'll be honest with you, I don't know that much about the werewolves around here, because I've only just arrived myself.' I admitted as I squeezed her hand in comfort before I continued, 'but if you'll let me, I'll help you find out what I can?'

'Why would you do that for me? You don't even know my name.' She murmured, sounding baffled and feeling a little apprehensive.

'I'm Kim.' I said giving her a little wave with the hand that wasn't linked through hers.

'Hayley,' she said with a smile and a little laugh.

'Well, Hayley I want to help you because you seem like a good person. That and everyone deserves to know where they came from,' I said, my voice firm; I understood her longing to find the family that had given her up, I was still convinced that I was adopted but I hadn't looked into it yet because I was lucky enough to have a family that cared for me as much as I cared for them; Hayley didn't have that.

'Thank you.' She said, smiling brightly as she gave me a hug, catching me off guard for a moment before I hugged her back.

'Anyway,' I started after she pulled back from me, linking her arm through mine again, 'it will probably be safer if you stay with me and out of the quarter while I look for information.'

'Are you sure?' She asked, sounding nervous, I could tell she didn't think it was fair to leave finding her family to me.

'Absolutely; I'll find out where the packs went when they were rudely kicked out of the quarter and when I find the Crescent Moon pack I'll take you to them.' I promised her, my voice clearly sincere.

After she hugged me again, we made our way back to the plantation and I made sure to fill her in on everyone's possible reactions, mainly Nik's; I was pretty sure his reaction wasn't going to be a pleasant one, but otherwise I wasn't worried. I pushed open the door and listened for anyone who might still be around, it was nearly two in the morning after all. I thought I could hear Bekah, Kol and Elena asleep upstairs, Elijah reading in the living room while Finn was in the kitchen and Nik didn't seem to be home yet. I pursed my lips for a moment, deciding who I was going to introduce her to first, but before I could ponder it any longer, the door opened behind us and I turned, bringing Hayley with me, bringing us face to face with a pissed off Nik.

'Hey Nik! You look tired,' I commented, trying to make casual conversation; I could already tell that he knew what I had done and he was pissed about it.

'Don't try and district me, love. I know what you did, killing two of Marcel's nightwalkers, are you insane?' He shouted, I wrinkled my nose at the volume of his voice as I discretely moved Hayley to stand behind me.

'No I'm not insane they were attacking an innocent werewolf, Nik and I wouldn't have killed them if they hadn't been so damn rude.' I argued.

'Oh well that makes sense.' He said, forcing his tone to be casual before he blew up again, 'are you deliberately trying to ruin the plan?'

'No, of course not. They were only night walkers its not like I killed any of his precious day walkers and I'll tell you what, I'll even go to him tomorrow and apologize, I'm sure it'll be fine,' I lied, waving my hand dismissively.

'I SWEAR TO-,' he started bellowing but I held my hand up and cut him off.

'I swear I've told you that shouting gets you nowhere.' I muttered, taking a step back, forcing Hayley back as well as he moved forward, 'you are definitely overreacting Nik.'

I focused on him and realized why he was so wound up; I could feel the aching in his chest that had started in my own when we had parted ways earlier. He had told me a while ago that when he had left Mystic Falls after Damon name dropped Mikael, his temper had been worse than it had ever been, and he hadn't made the connection as to why until he came back; I calmed him, leveled out his mind so that he could think clearly. Once I knew what he needed, I moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly; he had been about to say something else but as soon as I touched him his mouth snapped shut and he wound his arms around my waist and hugged me back, his anger leaving him with a long sigh. With my face safely buried into his neck I was able to place a lingering kiss onto his mark, causing goose bumps to erupt over his skin, without Hayley seeing. Once he was completely calm, I pulled away, leaving one of my hands around his waist.

'This is Hayley,' I said with a bright smile as I gestured to her; she looked a little nervous over Klaus' outburst and also a little confused at how easily I had calmed him down, but otherwise she was holding her own.

'The innocent werewolf she rescued,' she smiled ironically, offering Klaus a little wave.

'I told her she could stay here while I help her find the pack that Marcel banished from the quarter,' I said, smiling to Elijah as he joined us in the hallway.

'That's our sister, kind, generous and selfless,' Klaus commented, his tone was mocking but I could feel that he was in fact proud and I could read the admiration in his eyes.

'Very true, brother.' Elijah agreed, his tone completely sincere as he looked to Hayley holding out his hand, 'I'm Elijah; I apologize for my brothers inhospitable introduction. Kimberly is of course correct, you are welcome here for as long as you need.'

Hayley looked a little taken aback, by Elijah himself as well as his speech, she glanced over to me and I gave her an encouraging nod. Without further hesitation she placed her hand into Elijah's, going to shake it, but Elijah turned her hand over and tenderly kissed her knuckles; we all heard her heart skip a beat in response. Klaus and I shared a knowing look as we witnessed the obvious attraction between the pair; I noticed that Finn had also joined us in the hallway and he was looking in between Hayley and Elijah with an incredulous expression on his face.

'Bestie, what have you done to piss Nik off now?' Kol asked, his tone amused as he came to a stop at the top of the staircase, his arm around Elena's waist. Elena was wearing one of Kol's T-shirts, while Kol was naked aside from his boxers.

'I didn't-,' I started to explain but I was cut off when Bekah stormed down the stairs in her pajamas; a long sleeved top and shorts, completely pissed.

'What the bloody hell is all the racquet about?' She demanded, coming to a stop when she noticed the new girl standing by Elijah, 'who are you?'

'This is Hayley, she's a werewolf and she's going to be staying with us for a while as I look into her pack's whereabouts,' I said, gesturing to Hayley and then pointing to everyone else as I named them.

'That's Kol, Elena, Rebekah, Elijah, Finn and this is Klaus,' I finished gesturing to the much calmer hybrid next to me.

'Hey,' she said, I could feel how overwhelmed she was and I sent her a comforting wave to calm her a little.

'What are we running a hotel now?' Bekah asked, astounded that I had offered a stranger a place to stay.

I rolled my eyes at her comment with a smile on my face, 'no, Bekah I'm just helping her out that's all,' I said giving her a wink when she rolled her eyes at me in return, 'anyway, let's go and find you a room.' I went to move away from Nik but he gripped my waist tighter, not ready to let me go yet.

'Allow me,' Elijah offered, gesturing for her to walk up the staircase first, I gave her an encouraging smile when she looked over to me and she walked forward without further hesitation.

'Elijah definitely fancies her,' Kol said bluntly, earning him a slap on the arm from Elena.

'Definitely,' I agreed, sharing a nod with Kol while Elena looked at me, astounded that I agreed with him.

'Well if we're done taking in strays, I'm going back to bed.' Bekah muttered, storming off up the stairs, everyone but me and Nik following behind her.

I wound my other arm around Nik's waist pulling him so his front aligned with mine, I rested my forehead against his before I whispered, 'are we actually alone?'

He chuckled as the hands he had on my waist moved lower, making me bite my lip in anticipation, 'I believe so, love,' he whispered back. We shared a grin before he captured my lips in a hungry kiss. One of my hands tangled in his soft curls while the other went to caress the side of his face briefly before it joined the other in his hair. His hands moved down to my ass, squeezing both cheeks, making me moan; I felt his lips quirk up into a smile for a moment before his lips continued to move against mine. He lifted me up suddenly; I gasped in surprise but wasted no time in wrapping my legs around his waist, moaning as he used my shock as leverage to join my tongue in a duel for dominance. It didn't take him long to win and when he did I felt myself being placed on the cold sheets of our bed as he rested over me. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, gazing into my eyes with a soft look on his face, though I did notice he was a little regretful as well.

'What's on your mind?' I asked him, my voice soft as I moved one of my hands to the side of his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly.

'The way I acted earlier, I-,' he cut off, closing his eyes and leaning into my touch, as his regret seemed to grow, 'I'm sorry,' he whispered, his voice breaking as if he wasn't used to saying it. I could feel his sincerity; he meant what he was saying, as well as his vulnerability over him actually apologizing. I felt my whole face soften as I leaned forward and placed a tender kiss onto his lips, giving him a gentle smile when he opened his eyes in surprise.

'Niklaus Mikaelson, you don't have to apologize to me; I knew who you were long before we were told we were mates. You're paranoid, you have a temper, you're arrogant and you're sweet, strong, caring, incredible and I _love_ you because those things are what make you who you are.' I murmured, my voice only loud enough for him to hear as my thumb continued to move back and forth; I kissed away the stray tear that had fallen down his cheek. He stared into my eyes for a long moment, probably trying to decide if I was being sincere or not, when he realized I was I saw the astonishment light up his face as he became speechless.

'I'll never understand what I did right in all my life to deserve you,' he whispered once he'd gathered himself enough to speak.

'You're you.' I answered simply, flushing over his compliment; I wasn't anything special, and in all honesty _I_ was grateful to have _him_.

Klaus shook his head in wonderment with a small, genuine smile on his face as he kissed my cheek, before he moved to connect his lips back to mine. The kiss was soft, tender, and affectionate and it made my heart pound in my chest while my skin tingled from the sparks flowing between us. His mouth moved to my neck, nipping and sucking as he went, while I moved my head to the side to give him better access, one of my hands tangled in his curls and the other travelled down his back until I reached the bottom of his shirt, where I slipped my hand my hand underneath and ran my fingertips up his spine, making him shiver. His hands moved to my waist, gently trailing up as he pushed my crop top up, removing his lips from my skin for a brief moment to push it over my head. When his lips came back to my neck, he began to trial lower, over my collarbone and down between the valley of my breasts, his hands coming to my bra and ripping it away without removing his lips from my skin.

My own hands moved to rip his shirt from his body; his lips quirked in amusement at my antics before my hips arched as he took one of my nipples into his mouth, his teeth grazing my skin gently as his tongue flicked over the erect nipple tauntingly, making me moan in pleasure. My hips were dancing with anticipation and I was on the verge of flipping him over and ripping off our remaining clothes when he seemed to sense my desperation; in a flash he removed all pieces of fabric that were in between us before he was back on top of me, one hand tangled in my hair as he held my mouth to his, the other gently trailing down my side, down to my leg coming to a stop to just above my knee where he lifted my leg to link around his hip, aligning our lower halves perfectly. He sunk into me tantalizingly slowly, my sounds of pleasure being swallowed in the kiss; his tongue moved against mine and the movement matched the rhythm of his hips. My hands moved to meet at the dip in his spine, my nails coming down to break his skin before I clawed outwards, making him growl against my lips while I moaned as his hands came to grip me in the dip between my spine and ass, holding my hips in place as the pace he was moving in and out of me increased. I could feel myself about to fall apart and I moved my head to the side, knowing what I needed to reach my climax, he understood what I wanted and bought his hybrid face forward and bit into my mark without hesitation. I moaned at the build up of pleasure, bringing my own quadbrid face forward as I bit over his already open mark, I groaned at how incredible he tasted before I completely fell over the edge, my eyes rolling into the back of my head and my screams of ecstasy being swallowed by his shoulder. I felt him follow closely behind me, growling in satisfaction against my skin. We seemed to remove our fangs in unison, licking away the remaining blood before the wound healed as we tried to get our breath back. Not long afterwards, we both fell into a peaceful sleep, completely spent from the day's activities.

The next morning was just as busy as the first; Elijah and Finn volunteered to stay with Hayley to make sure she didn't run into any trouble, which in all honesty I didn't think that she would, but it was better safe than sorry. Bekah, Elena and Kol went to check in with Sophie and see what the next stage of the plan was going to be while Nik and I went to Marcel to initiate stage one of the plan. I had my arm linked though Nik's as we made our way into Marcel's house; it was the only kind of touching we could get away with in public while we had the vampires of New Orleans convinced we were twins. Nik mentioned to me that Marcel's current living quarters used to be his a hundred years ago, and I could feel his longing and nostalgia as he mentioned it; he missed calling this place home. We found Marcel in one of the bedrooms on the second floor, him and a few other men crouched at a male vampire's bedside; he was looking pretty sickly, his skin was pale and sweaty, not to mention the open and infected looking bite wound on the side of his neck.

'That is _not_ pretty,' I muttered before I could stop myself, my nose wrinkling in disgust as I tried not to look at the injury.

'What do you two want?' Marcel demanded, his tone far from friendly, causing Nik and I to share a raised eyebrow look before we returned our gazes to his.

'Well, my brother told me what he did last night, lashing out and having one of his temper tantrums,' I started, shaking my head in faux disappointment, 'I told him that he couldn't take his anger out on innocent bystanders so he's here to propose a peace offering.' I raised my brow at Nik as a gesture for him to go ahead, he shook his head in faux frustration but I could feel his amusement as he reached to the stand behind us and grabbed an empty glass, biting into his hand and allowing his blood to flow into it.

'As my sister so eloquently put it, I had a chance to sleep on my actions last night and I realized that my actions were a little rash.' He paused offering the glass of blood to Marcel, he reluctantly took it though he looked a little confused, 'my blood will heal him. Me and my family would like to build a home here, if you'll forgive my actions and allow us to stay.' Nik finished, offering Marcel a small regretful smile that made me think he could be an actor, the performance he was giving was that convincing.

Marcel handed the glass to one of his day walkers, telling him to give the glass to the man suffering from the werewolf bite then he turned back to us, staring for a moment before his face broke out into a grin and he laughed, placing a hand either side of Klaus' smirking face. He may have had Klaus fooled with his quick offer for us to stay in New Orleans, but I could feel his anger and apprehension towards us all, and I knew I would have to remain on my guard around him for the time being.

'Of course, friend, you and your family are welcome as long as you'd like.' He offered, though he looked like he was putting an awful amount of effort in not grinding out his words.

'Wonderful,' I said, smiling brightly, 'I was wondering if you could do me a _tiny_ little favor?'

'Absolutely, what can I do for you?' He asked, seeming to genuinely mean his offer.

'Well when you said werewolves were banished from the quarter, I'm assuming some lived her up until you initiated the ban, right?' I made sure to keep my voice casual as if I was just vaguely curious, to avoid any suspicion.

'That's right. Those that were living here at the time either left town completely or some relocated to the Bayou. They don't give us much trouble there, we don't bother them and they don't bother us.' He smiled as if he was proud of his solution; I couldn't feel any suspicion coming off him which suited me perfectly, though I wouldn't put it past him to have some of his men trail me because I had shown an interest in the werewolves.

'Good motto,' I offered, trying to make out that I liked his idea, in truth I hated it.

'I think so,' Marcel smiled kindly before he abruptly clapped his hands together, 'well I should get moving, I have a town to run after all; you guys let me or one of my guys know if you need anything.'

'We will,' Nik smirked before we turned and made our way out of the house, our arms linked together as we left Marcel and his minions behind.

After we made sure that no one was following us we flashed to the Bayou, managing to find several kinds of werewolf scents; we had to decipher through each one so that we could focus on them singularly and only talk to one pack at a time. Of course, none of the werewolves knew nothing about the Crescent Moon pack, and so far all of them had been telling the truth when we asked; I assumed it was the part werewolf that they could smell on us that made them happy to open up. I was just about to give up all hope when we came across what _looked_ like an abandoned cabin; you know the kind you see in horror films where the serial killer holds them in a secluded cabin in the middle of no where because no one can hear them scream? _Yeah_ , well those were the kinds of images that were flashing through my mind as we approached the cabin, which we only did because we could hear a heartbeat coming from inside, though my hand did tighten around Klaus' arm much to his amusement. I could feel that the person who was inside was calm even though I suspected they could hear us approaching, it was as if they were _expecting_ us, which was too creepy for me to consider for too long.

'Klaus, Kimberly, I have been waiting for you two to show your faces around here.' A female voice said, a young woman no more than eighteen stepping from through the doorway after she had finished speaking. She was wearing clothes that were far too big for her; a long black T-shirt that I suspected was a man's and denim jeans with an over grown grey wool cardigan. Her hair was chestnut brown and cut off just below her chin; her eyes matched her hair almost exactly, her gaze shining with admiration as she looked in between Klaus and I. We shared a look as we both realized that her scent wasn't one of a werewolf; she was human.

'Who are you?' Klaus asked he shifted as if he was going to move me behind him in a protective gesture, but I simply gripped his arm tighter keeping him in place and silently telling him that we were in this _together._

'I am Eve and I know who you're looking for.' She said, her tone very matter of fact, causing Klaus and I to share an amused smirk.

'Is that so?' I inquired, a little curious.

'You're here for Hayley, the girl from the Crescent Moon pack.' She stated plainly.

'How do you know that?' Klaus said, his voice calm but there was an underlying threat there that told Eve to tell the truth, which made me roll my eyes but otherwise I didn't comment.

'The pack knew she was here as soon as she stepped into New Orleans, they were drawn to her like any wolves are to those who share their blood. We heard that she was rescued by one of the Original ones last night through some of our trusted human contacts that reside in the city.' She looked over to me, giving me a soft smile before she continued, 'the Crescent Moon pack was cursed by a witch under Marcel's control; they were cursed to spend everyday in their wolf form, except on the night of a full moon, when they are able to transform to their human form for a few hours.'

'He didn't do that to all of the packs though, why just this one?' I asked, confused.

'Because the Crescent Moon pack has always been considered as royalty among the werewolf community, with them out of commission it has left the other packs without any form of leadership, making a revolution against the vampires less likely.' Eve answered as she stepped from the porch and stood in front of us with her arms crossed, 'you need to tell Hayley to be careful; anyone with the Crescent mark is basically a walking target for death.'

'Do you know the witch who cast the curse?' Nik asked, frowning in thought as he considered Marcel using a witch to do the very thing he had banned them from doing.

'No. Who ever it is Marcel keeps locked up tight and protected. No one knows who it is,' Eve answered; I gave Klaus a small discrete nod to indicate that she was in fact telling the truth.

'Well do me a favor; there's a full moon tomorrow night. Could you tell the Crescent Moon pack to come to the plantation? Hayley will be there and I'm sure that she would love the chance to meet you all.' I said, my mind already reeling with the things that I would need to get ready for them.

'S-sure,' Eve stuttered, it was the first time in the conversation that she had sounded unsure and when I focused on her I could feel her wonder and astonishment, I didn't know why and I didn't have time to ponder over it either. I moved forward and gave her a one armed hug and waved goodbye as me and Klaus flashed away from the Bayou, but we stopped just on the edge of the city, still surrounded by trees where we could talk without being overheard or watched, though to be safe we spoke through our thoughts.

 _It's a witch Nik. That's why he knows whenever someone is doing magic; he has a witch, one he trusts and one with a lot of power._

 _I think you're right, love._

 _I don't know what he hopes to accomplish by keeping the species apart like this, all he's doing is creating hate between them all, hate that doesn't need to exist._

 _Some call it a necessary risk, love._

 _Well I think it's a means to an end; the witches will be able to do magic freely again at some point and the werewolves will break the curse. What does he think they'll do then? Skip happily off into the sunset? No they'll be vengeful and they'll come for the vampires._

 _You know, I think you were born for this._

 _What do you mean?_

 _You were born to lead. You're going to make an excellent Queen._ He placed a soft kiss to my forehead, while I looked down, flushing from the compliment.

 _You don't think I notice that do you?_ He asked, my eyes moving back up to meet his in surprise before he continued, _every time someone compliments you, you look away or change the subject as if you physically can't accept the commendation._ He moved his hand underneath my chin to make sure my gaze stayed on his before he went on, _you, Kimberly Mikaelson, are an incredible woman and I love you._ I felt my eyes glisten at his words when I felt the sincerity coming from him.

 _You called me Mikaelson,_ I replied, not knowing what else to say.

He smiled, placing a lingering kiss to my lips before he pulled away; _you are a Mikaelson, love. And you'll always be considered one… that is unless you don't want to be?_

 _Of course I want to be, Nik._ I replied with a smile before I leaned forward and placed a kiss to his jaw, _and I love you too, Niklaus Mikaelson._

We shared a genuine smile before we made our way back to the plantation, our arms linked together as we moved as one. It only took us a few minutes to get there and I went to seek out Hayley straight away while Nik offered me a brief but passionate kiss before he went to find Marcel; he was working on getting into his inner circle; Sophie's instruction. I found Hayley watching Elijah and Finn engaged in what looked like an intense game of chess, though she looked amused more than anything.

'Hayley, I have news.' I said, moving to sit opposite her on the other side of Elijah and Finn; we were both over looking the chessboard, talking over their silent game.

'What did you find out?' She asked eagerly.

I told her what Eve had told me; about the curse, about what her birthmark meant, everything. Elijah and Finn stopped in their game to listen as well; Elijah agreed with me about Marcel having a powerful witch as his secret weapon, as did Finn. Hayley didn't comment much, in fact when I focused on her I could feel how disheartened she was; I was by her side in a flash, my arm wrapped around her shoulders, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her.

'I should also mention, I asked Eve to tell the rest of the pack to come here on the night of the full moon. They'll be human for a few hours, I mean it won't be for very long and-,' I was cut off from my ramblings as Hayley tackled me in a hug, almost knocking us both to the floor, but Elijah and Finn reached out, steadying us.

'I can't thank you enough, honestly,' she murmured, almost too low for me to hear as she clung to me.

'Don't worry about it,' I replied as I hugged her back, not knowing what else to say, anyone else would have done the same thing, right? She pulled back from the hug after a moment, I noted that Elijah and Finn had returned to their game, though I had a sneaking suspicion that they were still listening.

'Once we find out who this witch is, I'm hoping we can convince her to do the spell to reverse the curse, from the sounds of it she's powerful, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. But I don't know how long that will be, if we start sniffing around Marcel too much too early, he'll get suspicious and we may never find out.' I warned her, wanting her to be prepared for how long this could actually take.

'Of course, I get that you can't just fix this over night, and honestly you've all done more for me than I would have ever expected.' She said, giving me a warm smile, which I returned.

'Anyway, we have a lot of stuff we need to get ready for tomorrow,' I said, jumping up, almost knocking over the chess board, much to Elijah and Finn's amusement. I sent them an apologetic look before I walked off towards the kitchen muttering indecipherable things underneath my breath. I jumped a mile when I felt a hand on my shoulder and moved to pin whoever it was against the wall, only to come face to face with Kol's amused and shocked expression causing me to drop my hand immediately.

'Sorry, bestie. I have a lot on my mind, I guess I'm a little jumpy,' I apologized, offering him a sheepish smile whilst trying to ignore Hayley and Elena's laughter coming from the doorway of the kitchen.

'What's on your mind?' He asked, once he had sent a murderous enough look to the pair to his left to cease their giggles, they may have stopped laughing but they were struggling to contain their amusement.

'I'm planning a party for the Crescent Moon pack,' I answered as I began rooting through the cupboards to look at the kinds of food we already had in, of course we had an inordinate amount, far more than a house of vampire's needed, but was perfect for throwing a werewolf party.

'You're what?' Kol said, sounding astounded.

'You heard me.' I muttered, pulling out one of the giant containers from one of the bottom cupboards as I placed four loafs of bread on the side.

'Do you need help?' Elena asked, coming to stand beside me, Hayley moving with her looking as if she wanted to ask the same thing.

'Yes, you make cheese,' I handed Elena one loafs with a block of cheese, before I handed Hayley another with five packets of ham, 'you make ham,' I looked over to Kol, smiling devilishly as I handed him another loaf with the peanut butter and jelly, 'you do peanut butter and jelly.' I winked, laughing at his shocked face, as if he couldn't believe that he was actually being roped into helping. But in all fairness, other than sputtering a few times to show his unhappiness, he got on with his task without further complaint.

Hayley took a little longer with her sandwiches as we had our vampire speed to help us, but she was finished not ten minutes after us, at that time I already had thirty ham and cheese quiches in the oven along with a hundred mini sausage rolls. They didn't take long and when they were finished I put them out on the side to cool, while I asked Kol to place his sandwiches into a container while I moved the remaining sandwiches into containers as well; Elena and Hayley went to the garage to see if there were any tables that could be moved outside that the food could be placed on. By the time they had returned I had all of the food stored in the fridge, which did take some skillful balancing and maneuvering, but Kol and I managed it. Though I did have to place a note on the door warning those who opened it to be careful.

Elena and Hayley informed me that they had found two tables that the food and drink could be placed on as well as a gazebo, encase it rained. They had already put them up and I gave them both a high five in thanks. For the next task I asked everyone to sort through clothes that they didn't really wear or want, seeing as the wolves that turned up tomorrow would essentially be naked otherwise. Kol handed over so many jeans and t-shirts I actually asked him if he had any clothes left; he laughed and assured me he did. Elena offered me some jeans, leggings, vest tops and long sleeved shirts and I contributed the same kinds of clothes as well. I didn't ask Hayley, knowing that she barely had the clothes on her back and I didn't want her to feel bad that she didn't have anything to offer. I folded all of the clothes up for now, placing them on the dining table by the patio door that led into the back garden, so that they would only need to be placed outside tomorrow. Once it was all done, I hugged everyone in thanks before I told them to go and relax in the living room while I made us some food for dinner, seeing as we were nearing six o'clock in the evening by that point; of course we could all just have a cup of blood to sedate our hunger, aside from Hayley, but I thought it was important to have a nice meal, as well as a cup of blood. We were vampires after all, though we could enjoy normal food, we still needed blood to survive.

After I pondered over the ingredients that were left in the fridge I decided to make lasagna with garlic bread and salad. It was fairly easy to make and with my new found vampire speed I had everything in the oven within fifteen minutes while I moved on to making a couple of bowls of salad, once that was done, I had the table set for eight in a flash. I was just pulling the lasagna and garlic bread out of the oven when Nik joined me in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling into my neck.

'I was wondering how long you were going to be gone for,' I murmured, placing the food gently on the countertop to assure that I didn't drop it.

Nik only hummed in answer as he placed kisses along my jaw, his hands moving down over my stomach and coming to a rest on my hips. I turned around lacing my hands around his neck as we shared a smirk.

'I heard you've had an eventful day, love,' Nik commented, resting his forehead against mine as he used his hands on my lower back to pull my entire body flush against his.

'Kol, Hayley and Elena helped, it wasn't just me,' I answered, my breathing becoming shallower as I struggled to form a coherent thought with him this close to me.

'Always so modest,' Nik murmured against my neck, his hot breath causing goose bumps to rise on my skin.

'Honest,' I disagreed, fighting the urge to bring his lips to mine, knowing that we probably wouldn't stop and seeing as the rest of our family were a few doors away and could walk in at any moment us getting caught was highly likely, especially with the supernatural hearing. I placed a kiss to his cheek before I reluctantly moved away from him, much to his disapproval.

 _If you keep doing that we're going to end up having sex on the kitchen counter._ I told him through my thoughts.

 _So?_ He smirked.

 _So, I'd rather not risk having sex where we could be walked in on at any moment._

 _Alright, love._ He chuckled; placing a kiss to my forehead before he took the salad bowls from my hands and placed them on the table. I gave him a smile in thanks as I cut the lasagna into eight pieces and placed it in the centre as well as a baguette of garlic bread on either side, with a bowl of salad following each baguette. Nik sat at the head seat on the left sipping the cup of blood I had already laid out for him. I had given Hayley a root beer, which was waiting for her in her place setting next to the other head seat where I presumed Elijah would be sitting.

'Dinner!' I shouted, too lazy to go to the living room and actually gather them all into the room, though it would have literally only taken me two seconds, but I was hungry…that was my excuse anyway.

'You cooked?' Elena was the first in the kitchen, taking her seat at the dining table opposite me.

'I cooked,' I confirmed as I reached forward and placed a slice of lasagna onto my plate with the serving spoon before I offered it to Nik while I moved to grab a few pieces of garlic bread, placing a few on Nik's plate as well.

'Hayley, you'll wanna sit there sweetie, I don't think you'll favor the beverage laid out for everyone else,' I told her, gesturing to her place, laughing when she wrinkled her nose at my comment before she gave me a warm smile and took the bowl of lasagna, helping herself to a piece when it reached her.

'I can't remember the last time we had a home cooked meal,' Kol mused, moaning in pleasure as he ate a bite of his lasagna.

Elena rolled her eyes while I laughed and Nik chuckled, everyone else seemed to be enjoying their food too much to respond to Kol's antics.

'It's been centuries,' Bekah agreed after she swallowed her mouthful of food, only to immediately add another when she had finished speaking.

'It's nice to eat as a family,' Elijah toasted, taking a brief sip of his blood before he continued eating, apparently enjoying that more than the cup of blood he usually had for his dinner. Everyone else lifted their glasses in response to his toast, all of us taking a brief sip before we continued to eat. I was happy that everyone was enjoying their food, though a little amused that they were all eating as if it were about to be taken away from them at any moment. We ate the rest of our meal in comfortable silence, the only sounds being cutlery scraping on plates, the sounds of people gulping their drink or sounds of pleasure as they ate. Once everyone was finished, Finn, Elijah and Kol insisted on clearing away. I thanked them before I moved to get up and shower, but Nik kept me in place with a hand on my thigh, I frowned over to him in confusion but other than quirking his brow, he didn't answer.

I looked over to everyone else at the table, feeling a little nervous because they were all grinning at me like they knew something I didn't.

'What the heck is going on?' I muttered.

Their grins only grew, Bekah returned to the kitchen carrying two big bags that looked heavy, even for her supernatural strength. She lifted them onto the table and pushed them towards me, her grin widening as my confusion grew. Kol, Elijah and Finn rejoined us at the table and they chuckled as they took in my expression.

'Am I missing something?' I asked.

'Did you really think we would forget your birthday, love?' Nik asked, smirking at me when my jaw fell open in shock; I had remembered it was my birthday in the early hours of this morning when I was getting asked for I.D. by Cami, but since then I had rescued a werewolf, looked for her pack, gone with Nik to heal a vampire… lets just say it had slipped my mind… again.

'You forgot didn't you?' Elena asked from the other side of the table, I could feel her amusement but I couldn't _see_ it, the bags that Bekah had placed on the table were that big.

'Maybe. In my defense a lot has been going on.' I muttered, before I looked to everyone else, 'how did you guys know?'

'Sweetheart if Nik and Elena didn't already know then I would have when I had your drivers license updated,' Bekah said, rolling her eyes in amusement, 'now enough talking, open your presents; they're from all of us.'

'Okay,' I murmured, standing up to peer inside of one of the bags; it had tissue paper over the top and when I peeled it away I gasped in surprise; inside were all seven of the Harry Potter books, they were all first editions and they were _signed_. My expression must have been one of complete shock because everyone laughed lightly in amusement over my reaction. I couldn't believe it. After I had recovered from my shock I moved on to the next bag which were singular presents; Elijah got me a royal blue leather bound journal, Elena got me a silver Pandora bracelet with three charms on it; a book, a sister charm and a paw charm which she insisted was to represent my werewolf side. Bekah had put together a photo album that had 'Always and Forever' engraved on the front in elegant script, all of the pictures she had collected of me and Nik were in there, some that I didn't know she even had, as well as pictures of me and the rest of the family; some were candid and some were ones she had asked us to pose for. Finn gifted me a collection of books that told the Mikaelson family history, Kol got me some earrings that allowed me to understand and speak any language and Hayley gave me a beautiful handmade leather woven bracelet which I placed on my wrist beside the other bracelet I had been gifted. Once the bags were empty I made my way around everyone, hugging and thanking each and every one of them before I stood next to Nik offering him the same treatment with the addition of a kiss on the cheek.

Not long after, Elena and Kol surprised me with a red velvet birthday cake, my favorite; they forced me to make a wish before I blew out the candles, once I had we all had a slice and I found myself questioning how on earth I had gotten so lucky to have such an amazing family who cared about me so much. We made our way to bed soon after, Nik helping me carry the presents up to our room; I placed them on the dressing table, deciding to tidy them away in the morning, I was _exhausted._ I had a quick shower and dressed in one of Nik's t-shirts before I came back out into the bedroom, about to climb straight into bed and pass out when I noticed that Nik was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at a square velvet box in his hands, he looked so lost in his thoughts that he didn't seem to hear me come in.

'Are you alright, Nik?' I asked, my voice soft as I tried to avoid startling him.

His eyes shot up to mine and I noticed that he seemed _nervous_ , I sent him a comforting wave without thinking and it seemed to give him the courage to stand and walk over to me. His hands toyed with the box he held in his hands and I could see him struggling to find the words he wanted to say to me, I gently bought my hands around both of his, holding them together.

'You don't need to be nervous with me, okay? No matter what,' I reminded him, which I only ever had to do when he was struggling to let his heart speak instead of his head; Klaus Mikaelson wasn't used to speaking in a way that wasn't threatening or rude; whatever it was about me I seemed to bring out the repressed part of him that spoke from his emotions.

'I didn't want to give you this in front of everyone else, because this is only for _you,_ no one else,' he finally said, his voice only loud enough for me to hear, as he gently placed the box into my hands. I took it, giving him a soft smile before I slowly opened it, nervous because he was nervous. When I saw what it was my eyes glistened and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from outright sobbing; it was a ring; the silver metal wound together to form an eternity symbol at the front and it held an engraving on the inside of the band at the back it read; Always and Forever, in elegant script.

I looked up to Klaus and gave him a watery smile, 'it's beautiful, Nik,' I whispered, only loud enough for him to hear.

He offered me a bright, relieved and genuine smile in response as he pulled the ring from the box and gently slipped it onto my ring finger on my right hand.

'It's a promise ring,' he murmured once he had placed the ring completely onto my finger, 'a promise to you, and a promise to _us.'_

'I love it and I love _you,'_ I replied my hands going to the sides of his face as my thumbs moved back and forth gently before I moved forward and captured his lips with my own in a kiss that was charged with love, promise and forever.

 **There's chapter twenty seven! I hope you enjoy it- let me know what you think! Sorry for the lack of Marcel but here I was really focusing on introducing Hayley; there will be more Marcel next time, I promise! :)**

 **A huge thank you to vargas93, 402 and MadelineT for choosing to either follow or favorite my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **BeccaSco: I did love this chapter! I was laughing so hard when Elijah suggested they act like twins haha.**_ **I'm glad you enjoyed it, and haha I did too when I came up with the idea :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX:…I think… I dislike Sophie XD Good character with an manipulating attitude, BUT she'll see what comes, whens someone treats one of the Mikaelson family * muhahaha * It's so funny to see them playing with Marcel, I am curious as what's going to happen next :) And about Kim and Klaus being twins… BRILLIANT! I couldn't stop myself from partying, when I read it :D Super idea! Xx**_ **Thank you, lovely I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Sophie yet, but you're right; as of now she's being very manipulative, so it could go either way. I can't wait to write more interactions with Marcel either, he was a little sparse in this chapter but that was because I was mainly focused on introducing Hayley, but there will be more Marcel next time. And thank you, I'm glad you liked the idea; I had to come up with something because I want to save the fact that Kim is a quadbrid and Klaus' mate for a later time when it will be more of an advantage rather than a weakness, plus her extra abilities give them a serious head start while the vampires don't know what they are.**


	28. New Alliances

Chapter Twenty Eight

'This is so complicated,' I muttered as I Bekah and I walked down the busy streets of New Orleans, our arms linked together.

'Tell me about it. But it's a good plan.' Bekah replied; I could feel her frustration with how intricate this plan was as well.

We were on our way to interrogate the woman who had sold Hayley out to Marcel's vampires yesterday when she stopped to ask her for help locating her pack; we were trying to find a link that we could exploit. While we were doing this, Nik was with one of the newly transitioned vampires that he had managed to compel into obeying him before Marcel put him on vervain. Apparently they were draining one of Marcel's nightwalkers of the vervain in his system so that he could be compelled as well. There were still a few loose threads that needed to be tied, but before we could decide how, we needed to get all of the information.

'This is the place, I think,' Bekah muttered, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the 'Voodoo' shop that we had stopped at, without further instruction I pushed the door open, the chimes indicating our entrance to the African American woman behind the counter.

'Good morning, ladies, I'm Sabine. What can I do for you today?' Sabine asked, I could tell that she knew who we were and she was a little nervous as to why we were seeking her out.

'Well we were hoping you could tell us who you told about the werewolf you come across yesterday,' I said, giving her a sweet, innocent smile.

'Well, sugar, I'm afraid I can't help you with that.' She answered, her whole demeanour suddenly becoming cold and unwelcoming.

' _Well_ you can either do so willingly, or…' Bekah started, trailing off as she flashed behind the woman, yanking her head back by her hair, 'we can instigate different measures to persuade you.'

'I would go with willingly,' I muttered, my tone dripping with irony.

'Alright, alright!' She shouted, stepping out of Bekah's grip as she released her, 'there's a witch that I feed my information to, if we keep an eye out for Marcel then he stays out of our way.' Sabine explained, almost pleading with us to understand.

'We need a name, sweetheart,' I said, crossing my arms over my chest and arching an eyebrow to show my impatience.

'Katie, the witches name is Katie. She's the girlfriend to one of the vampires in Marcel's inner circle.' She revealed, Bekah and I sharing a raised eyebrow look at that before she continued, 'Thierry, Marcel's right hand man is her boyfriend.'

'Thank you, and be sure to keep this to yourself, sweetheart. We have no qualms about coming back and finishing the job,' Bekah said her voice taunting but the underlying threat was clear.

In a flash her arm was linked through mine once again as we walked down the street, a new face to find. Personally I had a bad feeling about this whole situation, I knew that Klaus was going to want a quick entrance to Marcel's inner circle because that would mean that he would regain the power of his kingdom sooner rather than later. But I also knew that if he manipulated others to get his way, he would never have the respect of the vampires like Marcel currently did. Meaning, his rein wouldn't last very long if he didn't have the people of the city behind him, I just had to find a way to get him to understand, which in all honesty had the potential to go either way.

'Love the ring by the way,' Bekah winked as we made our way to the address that Sabine had handed us on our way out of the door.

'Hmm?' I asked, her voice bringing me out of my thoughts, it was then I realised I had been twirling the ring on my right ring finger around, 'oh, me too,' I smiled brightly holding it out in front of me so that it glistened in the sunlight.

'Nik can be sweet when he wants too.' Bekah said, smiling genuinely as she noticed my happiness.

'Yes he can,' I agreed, my smile turning devilish before I continued, 'he can be rough too.'

'Okay, that's disgusting, I do _not_ need to hear that,' Bekah muttered after she picked up on my suggestive tone; I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on her face; she looked like she was sucking on a lemon.

We reached Katie not long after, and surprisingly it wasn't hard to get her on our side; she wanted Marcel to be removed from the throne because she was tired of having to hide her relationship with Thierry, which I could understand; I was getting tired of pretending that Nik and I were twins. I knew that it had only been a few days but it felt like longer because Nik and I unconsciously drifted towards each other whenever we were in the same room, so having to watch that was starting to get tedious. We told her that Nik planned on lifting the ban on witchcraft and werewolves when he took the throne, meaning her and Thierry could be together without having to hide. I could feel her honesty when she told us she would support Nik as well as her desire to be with her boyfriend without any strings attached, so I knew her commitment was pure. After we were finished there we went to meet up with Nik in the basement of an abandoned building, Bekah and I both wrinkling our noses in disgust; it looked like it could collapse at any moment.

'It's called compulsion, vampires can compel humans, Original vampires, such as my siblings and I, can compel vampires and no one can compel Originals. Understand?' Nik said, and though I couldn't see him yet, I could hear the smirk in his voice. Bekah and I flashed into the direction we heard him coming from and managed to get there before the vampire he had under his control answered.

'Yeah, I think so.' He said, I could feel his confusion and pain and when I saw the vampire that was bleeding from his chest and chained to the ceiling by his wrists I understood why; I took his pain and replaced it with comfort, not wanting him to feel guilty for something he was essentially being forced to do.

'Is there any particular reason you're giving your minion a lesson on compulsion?' Bekah asked, drawing the attention of the three male vampires over to us.

'Not particularly, no.' Nik smirked, his hands clasped behind his back as he regarded his sister for a moment, his eyes softening briefly when his gaze flickered over to me, before he bought his mask back up.

'Anyway, I think he's done enough… _torturing_ for one day,' I muttered, stepping forward and taking the blade he was holding in his hands away from him, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards him as I squeezed his hand briefly before releasing him.

'I can go?' He asked, tentatively.

'You can, but I'd go fast before he tells you to stay, you are under his compulsion after all.' I muttered, he gave me a grateful look and before I could blink, he was gone.

'What did you do that for?' Nik demanded, sounding pissed.

'You confirmed your compulsion was working and if you want to drain someone of vervain you can do it yourself, Nik.' I said, throwing the blade over to him, smirking when he caught it without moving his eyes from mine.

'That's not the point, he was under my control, _I_ should have been the one to let him go,' Nik insisted, walking forward and running the blade across the chest of the vampire he still had hanging from the ceiling; I took his pain, forcing my expression to read as blank as I answered him.

'You want this kingdom back you need to stop forcing people's allegiance, love,' I said, my voice low because of my annoyance before I continued, 'forcing people to torture vampires because you can't be arsed to do it yourself isn't exactly a sure way to earn loyalty.'

Nik stared at me for a long moment, emotions flitting through him as if he was unsure as to how he should feel about me challenging him; he was swimming with anger, amusement and lust, though the one he seemed to settle on was admiration, which made me frown in confusion.

'She's right, Nik. Taking down Marcel and his empire will all be for nothing if we don't earn the respect and loyalty of those who will remain,' Bekah said, not moving from her place in the doorway, while I stayed staring into Nik's intense gaze, unflinching.

'I know she is,' he sighed, shaking his head in astonishment, 'how is it that you are already a better leader than me?'

I rolled my eyes at that, refusing to focus on what he was feeling because he was right; I didn't know how to take a compliment and I knew that if I felt sincerity coming from him I would flush, avoid his gaze and give myself away. But of course he knew what I was feeling, thanks to the mate bond we shared; he stepped forward placing a gentle hand on my cheek as his thumb moved back and forth gently while he spoke to me through his thoughts.

 _You're an amazing woman, I love you and I will tell you that everyday for as long as it takes for you to believe it,_ he promised me, I could feel the vulnerability shining in my eyes as I let him see it, which was a big step for me; I never allowed anyone to see me as anything other than strong and confident. He placed a gentle kiss to my forehead when he read the weakness in my eyes, my lids fluttering shut from the gesture, when they opened again the vulnerability was gone almost as if it was never there.

'So, is there any particular reason that we're torturing this poor bloke?' Bekah asked when the moment between Nik and I had passed.

'I'd hardly call it torture seeing as he's feeling no pain,' Nik muttered giving me a look before he walked forward and drew the blade across the man's chest again; I took the pain without hesitation.

'No he's not,' I agreed, hiding the pain from my expression, not wanting him to feel guilty about the fact that he was essentially slicing the blade across my chest; we needed him off vervain but I didn't think he should have to suffer for it.

'Anyway, do we actually have a plan? We have a few pawns in place, but what's our move?' Bekah asked, leaning against the wall for a moment before she remembered where she was and stood upright again, her nose wrinkling as she took in the dirty state of the wall.

'Well, I have a plan but I'm open to suggestions,' Nik said, giving me a pointed look as he smiled before he continued, 'I was thinking of compelling this poor chap to attack Thierry so that he has no choice but to kill him, meaning that he will have broken one of Marcel's precious rules. Thus leaving an opening in Marcel's inner circle.'

'Well, we found out who Sabine grassed Hayley up to a witch by the name of Katie who just _happens_ to be Thierry's girlfriend,' Bekah said, her voice not giving away how she felt about Nik's suggestion, though I could feel her apprehension.

'Honestly, if you play this smartly I think you could earn the trust of Marcel's inner circle rather than demolishing it to gain yourself a place. There's no point in forcing your way in if they're all going to be whispering in Marcel's ear that you can't be trusted.' I pointed out, my eyes focusing on the vampire in the room for a moment to see if he was in any pain before I looked back to Klaus.

'Alright, love, what do you suggest?' He asked, throwing the blade to Rebekah and gesturing for her to continue to work on the vampire while he stepped forward, his body aligning with mine as he slipped his hands into the back pockets of my jeans.

I rested my forehead against his as I told him and Bekah about my idea, which they actually seemed to agree with, but we did have Nik's plan on the side-lines as a plan B; though I didn't think it would be necessary. I had felt how much Katie loved Thierry earlier and I _knew_ that he felt the same way; I had a feeling that the opportunity to be with whoever he wanted without fearing Marcel's wrath was going to be an offer that he couldn't refuse. The next step now, however, involved getting him alone so that we could pitch the idea to him; I knew he wasn't going to come easily; despite how much he loved his girlfriend, he was still loyal to Marcel, but I knew it was possible which was why _I_ was going to do the talking.

'Right, Nik he's vervain free, do what you must,' Bekah said, throwing the blade to the floor dismissively.

Nik walked forward and tilted the man's head so that he met his gaze, 'you will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run or hide, you will simply obey.' Klaus compelled, releasing the man's head when he was satisfied he was under his control.

'So, Marcel is throwing a party tonight, isn't he?' Bekah asked, after Nik had cut the vampire loose and let him go.

'He is, and we need something to distract him…' I murmured, knowing that the necessity of a distraction was why Nik had put the vampire under his control in the first place, but I preferred a less violent option.

'I saw him flirting with that blonde bartender the other day,' Bekah said, her tone void of emotion but I could feel the jealousy coming off her; lets just say when I found out her and Marcel had a thing a century ago I had been moderately surprised.

'Brilliant, all we need to do is invite her; he'll be preoccupied with making sure none of his vampire's feed on her and it will give us the opportunity to get Thierry alone.' I nodded, liking the sound of it.

'I'll get the blonde,' Bekah said, flashing away without another word.

I turned back to Nik, my arms linking around his neck as I ran my hands through his hair, enjoying the feel of it between my fingers, 'she's still into him you know.' I muttered, referring to Bekah and Marcel.

'I know, though I'm not sure Marcel feels the same way, at least not anymore,' Nik commented, resting his forehead against mine as his eyes fluttered shut while he enjoyed me playing with his hair.

'If he does I'm sure he's careful not to show it around you, you're a _little_ overprotective when it comes to your little sister,' I smirked when his eyes opened briefly just so he could roll them in an exaggerated manner before they snapped shut again. We stayed that way for a moment longer before we decided that we should get on with the plan, I pulled out my phone as it buzzed when we stepped out onto the street.

 _Bekah: The blonde is on her way now; I'm going to get back to the plantation and help with the set up._

 _Me: Brilliant, nice work Bekah._

 _Bekah: Thanks, Kimmie._

I showed the texts to Klaus before we leisurely made our way to the club where he was holding his nightly party, my arm linked through Nik's as we walked. By the time we arrived, the party was in full swing, meaning that basically every vampire in the vicinity had their fangs into an unsuspecting tourist; I ended up taking a lot of pain and confusion before we had even walked through the door. Nik's arm tightened around mine both in warning for me to not over exert myself as well as a gesture of comfort.

'Well, if it isn't my favourite twins!' Marcel shouted as he dramatically stepped over the railing of the second floor to land in front of us, his signature grin in place; I could feel that while he was a little apprehensive to see us, he was also a happy and I could sense that he was even starting to trust us a little.

'Marcel, quite the party as always,' Nik smirked, patting him on the back with the hand that wasn't linked through mine.

'You know my motto; the party never ends,' Marcel grinned, his eyes flickering over to me.

'Good motto,' I said, forcing a grin, which he returned with ease.

'Don't I know her?' Nik asked, his voice casual as he gestured behind Marcel where Cami was wondering around as if she was looking for someone, though I noticed that there were a few vampires eyeing her up as if she was a piece of steak.

'Yeah…' Marcel trailed off as he recognised her, dread coming off him in waves as he shouted over his shoulder to us, 'I'll catch you guys later.'

'Okay!' I answered, already glancing around as I tried to locate his friend; Nik had informed me that Thierry was the one who he had bitten when we first arrived, though when I went with him to cure him, I had been looking anywhere that the toxic werewolf bite _wasn't._

'This way, sister,' Nik muttered gently pulling me out of the door we had just entered through, I looked up to him in confusion, about to ask him why we were leaving when I noticed a tall man with dark hear wearing a hat walking down the street, his pace determined. Nik and I followed silently behind him until we were far enough away from the party to not be overheard by any of Marcel's vampires, at which point we flashed in front of him, halting his progress.

'Hello, Thierry isn't it?' Nik asked, his smirk dangerous, which made me roll my eyes in annoyance; he had already bitten the man he didn't need to exert any more fear in him.

'Yes. You're the hybrid twins,' Thierry said, his tone hinted at his nerves as well as the fact that he kept on glancing in between Klaus and me.

'We have a little proposition to run by you,' I said, my voice gentle as I sent comforting waves towards him in an attempt to ease his anxiety, 'we know that your girlfriend, Katie, is a witch. And we also know that Marcel probably doesn't know about it.'

'What do you want?' He asked immediately, his gaze hardening as suspicion started to pour from him.

'Nothing, we just wanted to ask you why you continue to serve a man who would happily kill your girlfriend if she so much as floated a feather, not to mention the fact that he would kill her if he found out you were associating with her either.' I said, continuing with my waves of comfort.

'Because Marcel turned me, he gave me the opportunity to live forever, I owe him my loyalty.' Thierry said, his voice sounded sincere and unwavering but I could feel the displeasure coming from him as he spoke; he hated that he had to hide his love for Katie just because she was a witch.

'Listen, he may have turned you and I can understand that you feel loyal to him because of that, but that doesn't mean you owe him your eternal life and your chance to be happy.' I said, stepping forward to squeeze his arm in a gesture of comfort; I could feel his conflicting emotions inside of him and I was trying to calm him enough to allow him to think clearly.

His eyes met mine and I could see as well as feel that he agreed with me and his mouth opened as if he wanted to say it aloud, but he just couldn't. I gave him a soft smile in response to let him know that it was okay to feel indecisive, before I spoke again, my voice gentle, 'you don't have to say anything right now, just think about it. If you want to stay loyal to Marcel then that's perfectly fine; if you decide to do that we won't betray your secret. You have my word.'

'What if I choose differently?' He asked, his voice tentatively curious.

'Then we'll ask you to remain loyal to us with the promise that when we take over Marcel's kingdom you and Katie can be together without having to worry about either one of you dying as a result. Katie can stop suppressing the witch side of her and will be able to practice magic freely, as all witches should.' I told him, by voice still light, but it rang with promise.

Thierry looked between us both; I could practically see the cogs turning in his head as if he was trying to make his decision now but I stopped him before he could get any further.

'Go to Katie, talk it thorough with her and sleep on it; you don't need to give us an answer right now.' I said squeezing his arm in comfort for a brief moment before I let him go.

He nodded and moved to step around us but Nik caught his arm, halting his efforts, 'while you think it though, mate, I suggest you keep this conversation between you, me, my sister and your girlfriend.' He murmured, his voice low and threatening, which made me roll my eyes; did he really think I would have let him go if I thought he was going to go and blab to Marcel?

'Of course,' Thierry answered, nodding as if to further confirm his answer; once Nik was satisfied that he wasn't going to betray us he released his arm and allowed him to flash away.

'Well this is romantic,' I murmured, my tone teasing, once I was sure there was no-one around to hear our conversation, 'the stars, the moonlight' I smiled, a nostalgic smile lighting up my face as I arched my back to allow myself to look up to the sky, the cold air hitting my lungs as I started at the beautiful scene above me.

'You like the stars,' Nik said, it wasn't a question; it was a statement of the fact.

'I do. Watching them was mine and my dad's thing; he used to go on bike rides with Elena, play baseball with Jeremy, but with me we would lay on the front garden just staring up at the sky. It used to drive my Mom crazy; we could be out there for hours.' I smiled softly as I remembered, the stars seeming to twinkle a little brighter as my eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

Nik placed a tender kiss to my temple as he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled my back to his chest, offering me all the comfort I needed.

'It's nice that you had traditions with your parents,' Nik murmured, his voice soft but also full of pain.

'They were great.' I said, turning around in his arms and placing my hand to his cheek as my thumb moved back and forth comfortingly, 'you deserved better than Mikael and Ester,' I told him, resting my forehead against his as his eyes glistened with tears of his own, 'I wish there was a way that I could take away all of the abuse and pain they both put you through.'

'You make it easier to forget,' he told me after a long moment, his voice hesitant.

'I'm glad,' I replied, placing a soft but passionate kiss to his lips before we pulled apart. We stayed in each others arms for a few moments longer before we decided we needed to get back to the plantation; the Crescent Moon pack would be arriving and transforming any moment, as the moon was due to reach its peak soon. It didn't take us long to flash back to the house, going straight through to the back garden as we did. I noticed that Hayley, Elena and Kol had already laid out all of the food we had prepared yesterday, while Elijah, Bekah and Finn were finishing putting out the cups and beverages to go with them.

'Oh thank god, you're here!' Hayley said, bouncing over to me and hugging me fiercely; I could sense her nerves and I amplified the comfort I was sending towards her as I returned her embrace.

'You're nervous,' I said when she pulled away, continuing when she nodded, 'you don't need to be; they'll love you I'm sure.'

'I hope you're right, I've been wanting this for as long as I can remember and now it's actually happening… it's like I don't know what to feel,' she murmured, running her hand though her hair in a nervous gesture. I took her anxiety completely and replaced it with tranquillity, smiling when her shoulders and expression relaxed simultaneously. Before she had a chance to get anxious again there was a rustling in the bushes at the far end of the swimming pool, I noticed that the clothes we had gathered yesterday were hung up on the line that crossed by the hedge, allowing them to dress whilst still maintaining some form of modesty.

One by one they all started to make their way over, heading straight towards Hayley; Kol, Elijah, Finn, Bekah and Elena made their way inside to allow her a chance to meet them without having an audience, I grabbed Nik's hand about to follow them when they started to make their way over to us after they had introduced themselves to Hayley. I shared a confused look with Klaus as the first male stopped in front of us; he had brown hair that matched his eyes and cut off just below his jawline. He offered me his hand first and I took it, not wanting to be rude to Hayley's family.

'I'm Jackson, myself and my pack have heard a lot about the both of you, about the prophecy and I just wanted you to know that the Crescent Moon pack will stand with the both of you, no matter what.' He said, his voice as well as the waves coming off him was sincere, but that only added to my confusion.

'Thank you.' I smiled, releasing his hand though I couldn't help but ask him a question as he moved to shake Klaus' hand as well, 'what prophecy?'

'Hundreds of years ago a prophet had a vision of the Original hybrid,' he gestured to Klaus before he crossed his arms over his chest and continued, 'she said that he would find his mate and when he turned her they would become unstoppable.'

Klaus and I shared a look before we nodded, gesturing for him to continue; we had already heard all of this.

'When the Original hybrid finds his mate, she will offer him a sense of humanity that he lost centuries ago, so that when they gained control of the kingdom, their leadership would be the greatest that was ever seen. Every supernatural species will live in harmony under their ruling and the King and Queen will rule with empathy while the respect that their followers have for them provides them with power.' Jackson recited, looking in between Klaus and me with an amused expression on his face and when I looked over to Nik I realised why; we were both wearing identical expressions of complete disbelief.

'What makes you so sure that's us?' I asked him once I had gathered myself, noticing that the rest of the pack and Hayley were listening to our conversation with varying degrees of interest.

'We knew it was you the minute you stepped into New Orleans, we could sense the power coming from the both of you,' he smiled, gesturing to Hayley before he continued, 'and when we found out you protected and offered to help one of our own without expecting anything in return, we were certain.'

'I-I don't know what to say.' I said, scratching the back of my head while a small laugh escaped me.

'You don't need to say anything, just know that when the time comes, you will have the support of our pack and it is likely that the others will follow,' Jackson said, offering us a genuine smile.

'Thank you,' I said after a long moment; it seemed like the appropriate thing to say.

Jackson simply nodded before he went over to get himself some food, the rest of the pack stopped staring at us when he did; some moving to the table to grab some food as well while the others just mingled. I focused on Hayley and returned her bright smile when she met my gaze for a brief moment before she continued chatting with the two girls in front of her; I was glad to sense her genuine happiness.

'Did you know about the prophecy?' I asked Klaus, my voice only loud enough for him to hear as I slid my arm around his waist and leaned into his side; there was no point in pretending that we were siblings in front of the pack; they already knew the truth.

'No, but that's not surprising; werewolves and witches tend to get on better than witches and vampires, so it's not a shock that the prophecy was never shared with us,' Klaus murmured in reply, resting his chin on top if my head as he inhaled my scent.

'Well it's definitely an interesting development,' I said, my voice dripping with irony.

Klaus only hummed in agreement and I when I focused I could feel the emotions swirling through him; he was shocked, curious, apprehensive, concerned and disbelieving. I removed my head from underneath his and placed an open mouthed kiss onto his lips, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards him as my hands tangled in his hair. He froze in surprise for a brief moment before he collected himself quickly, his lips moving against mine and dominating the kiss as he always did; I felt the abundance of emotions he had been feeling a moment before ebb away as he became completely calm. I pulled away after a moment, not wanting us to reach a point where we _couldn't_ stop seeing as we were surrounded by werewolves. I rested my forehead against his as we shared a soft smile.

 _We can do this as long as we stick together, Nik. I know we can._ I told him through my thoughts, my hand coming up to caress his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly.

 _I know, love._ Nik smirked, placing a kiss to my forehead before I led him inside the house after we said goodbye to the pack; this gathering was for Hayley and I didn't want our presence to steal any of her thunder anymore than it already had.

We found the rest of the family sitting in the living room; I couldn't help but smirk when I saw what they were watching: Dexter. Nik pulled me onto the free armchair and I followed without complaint, my head resting into the crook of his neck as I inhaled his scent, happy when it had the calming effect it always had. In the back of my head I knew that we needed to gather information; we needed to share what we had found and done while Elena and Kol needed to share what they had found out about the witch that Marcel was using as his secret weapon. But in that moment I felt so relaxed and when I focused on everyone else I noted that they were as well, and I figured we deserved the night to act like a normal family watching T.V. in front of a burning fire, while we fought to stay awake. Elena had already lost that battle; she was asleep against Kol's chest while Kol ran his fingers gently through her long her, smiling softly whenever she released a happy sigh; Bekah was fast asleep on the opposite sofa, her head on Elijah's lap while the rest of her body curled into a ball. Finn was sat on the other side of the sofa that Kol and Elena were occupying, though himself and Elijah looked far too engrossed in the T.V. show to actually worry about falling asleep. I was close to losing the battle myself as I kept fluttering in and out of unconsciousness but when Nik started to draw patterns on my bare shoulder with his index finger while his other hand gently combed through my hair, I gave up and surrendered myself to sleep.

 **There's chapter twenty eight for you! I know a lot happens in this chapter and I hope it wasn't too overwhelming for you! Let me know what you think :)**

 **A huge thank you to Bea Cullen Salvatore for giving my story a favourite and a follow- it means a lot :)**

 _ **BeccaSco: YAS girl this chapter was so perfect I loved it! Good job!**_ **Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this one too :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: T.T. they're so heartbreaking sweet together! You bought the emotion through your writing exactly to my heart T.T I'm totally voting for Elijah/Hayley :) A. Because Elijah deserves some happiness (only for him), as does Hayley and B. Because Hayley's is soo sweet (I didn't like the T.V. Hayley, cause of the whole Klaus/Caroline situation, ect.) Do you plan on keeping her so sweet and positive natured or are you gonna make her a little bit darker, manipulative and such? And I'm so curios about the witch's reaction of Kim! Does Kim gets a few special abilitys? PLS PLS PLS, that would be so awesome :) As always great job! XX**_ **Thank you so much, lovely :) I'm so glad that you enjoyed it ;) I like the way I've written Hayley and I don't think I'm going to lead her down a darker road just because I can't see her ever being a manipulative character, but you never know things might change, so we'll see ;) As for Kim gaining extra abilities, other than her powers being stronger when she channels emotions towards other people as well as her visions growing as she is able to see further into the future I don't think I'm going to give her any extra abilities- but never say never; things might change ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter too- let me know what you thought :)**

 _ **Guest: Interesting…**_ **Thank you :)**


	29. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter Twenty Nine

I woke up the next morning in our bed, though I didn't remember actually getting moved there. I decided that I was going to make everyone breakfast, seeing as I had been too busy to make a meal the night before. I couldn't help but spend a moment admiring Klaus' sleeping form beforehand; I placed a gentle kiss to his cheek before I reluctantly made my way to the bathroom to shower. I took my time in the shower, enjoying the hot water cascading over my body as well as the therapeutic process of washing my hair. Once finished I dressed in a flash; I wore black leather high waisted shorts with a white thin strapped vest top and black biker boots, leaving my damp hair down knowing they would form their natural lose curls once they had dried. I snuck another glance at Nik's sleeping form before I made my way down to the kitchen. Nik and I were usually the last ones up, so I wasn't surprised to hear everyone else already milling around in the house; I shouted out a good morning to everyone as I passed the different rooms before I finally reached the kitchen.

'Good morning,' I said giving Elijah and Hayley a warm smile where they were sitting on the dining table; Elijah was in the head seat he usually sat in with his back to the entrance of the kitchen, with Hayley sat to his left.

'Morning,' Hayley answered, she returned my smile, as did Elijah.

I turned to the fridge, leaving them to return to their conversation about the night before and pretending not to notice the fact that they were holding hands underneath the table, though I couldn't help the smile that played on my lips when I felt the mutual attraction between them both. It was nice to see them both happy, and I hoped it worked out for the both of them; a vampire and a werewolf pairing was a little rare, but that didn't mean it couldn't work. I hummed under my breath as I prepared the ingredients, deciding to make pancakes; I had everything set up in a flash and before I knew it I had two plates stacked up, twelve on each. I laid the table in another flash; Elijah and Hayley lifted their hands in the air without releasing their hold on each other or ceasing their conversation. Once I had done that I placed both plates of pancakes on the table, adding smaller bowls of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries as well as some honey and cream. I set out a cup of blood for all the vampires and poured Hayley a glass of orange juice, which she accepted with a smile.

'Breakfast!' I called out before I took my seat to the right of the other head seat, placing two pancakes onto my plate, taking a few strawberries and raspberries before drizzling honey over everything.

Elena and the remaining Original siblings trailed in, Nik being the last and still looking half asleep, his curls adorably askew. Everyone took their seats and began helping themselves to the food; Nik placed a kiss to my forehead as he sat down, causing me to send a soft smile his way in response.

'Mmmm pancakes!' Elena said, her voice excited as she took her seat across from me and loaded up her plate.

I grinned at her excitement in between mouthfuls before I looked over to Kol when he moaned in pleasure as he ate his food, making me roll my eyes playfully.

'Kol, if you could contain yourself that would be _lovely_ ,' Bekah said, sipping the glass of blood next to her plate before she continued eating.

He ignored her, not making any effort to quieten down, even when Elena lightly slapped his arm. Nik and I chuckled at his antics but otherwise made no further comment as we all continued to eat our food, quickly clearing our plates.

'I'll tell you what, you are the best thing to have happened to this family darling,' Kol said, sipping on his blood after his plate had been cleared.

'My pancakes are that good?' I smirked, linking my taking Nik's hand entwining our fingers.

'Your pancakes are astonishing, bestie, but that's not what I'm talking about,' he said, a genuine smile lighting up his face, I looked around the table and noticed that everyone was looking at me with a soft smile.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, I went to stand up and collect the dirty dishes, but Bekah stopped me with a hand on my arm.

'You cooked, you're not doing the dishes as well,' she told me, taking the few plates I had in my hand and gesturing for Kol to gather the rest, which he did without complaint.

I sat back down, happy that the attention had moved away from me as we began to discuss what Elena and Kol had found out about Marcel's witch from Sophie.

'The witches here practice ancestral magic and over time, those ties start to weaken, and therefore, so does their magic. In order to restore their power, the witches hold a Harvest every three centuries, which is essentially a sacrifice.' Elena explained, looking between Klaus and me as she did.

' _That_ is horrific,' I said, my nose wrinkling in disgust.

'What does that have to do with Marcel's witch?' Nik asked, his thumb moving back and forth across my knuckles as he spoke, trying to quell the sadness over the young witches fate that he could no doubt feel stirring inside me.

'It turns out eight months ago a girl called Davina was one of four teenage witches that were chosen to help the witches strengthen their ties to their ancestors. She was the supposed to be last girl sacrificed and that was when Marcel interfered and saved her.' Kol said, finishing off Elena's sentence as he sat back into his seat, throwing his arm over Elena's shoulders.

I shook my head, sad that a teenage girl had to go through that, but there was a niggling feeling at the back of my mind told me that I was missing something.

'She's so powerful because as the ritual happened the power form the previous witch flowed to the next. Basically she's got the power of four witches inside her,' Elena concluded.

'That's why she can sense when the witches are doing magic,' Nik said, his face lighting up in realisation.

'And why Marcel is keeping her out of the public eye; he doesn't want the witches capturing her again and completing the Harvest,' I muttered, realising that Marcel actually cared about her, in his own way; sure he had the advantage of being able to keep the witches in line, but I had the feeling that he was so strict with that rule because of what he had seen them do to three innocent teenage girls, which I could understand.

'Getting her on our side should be interesting,' I said, my voice ironic.

'If anyone can do it, it's you,' Elena said, sounding sure.

'How are we going to meet her anyway? If Marcel keeps her under lock and key it sounds pretty impossible,' I muttered, absentmindedly drawing shapes on Nik's forearm with the hand that wasn't entwined with his.

'Well, before I sent her to you last night I compelled the blonde to tell me anything that Marcel asked her to do, despite any compulsion that he might put in place,' Bekah started, sounding pretty pleased with herself, pulling out her phone before she continued, 'and this morning I got a text that Marcel asked her to babysit a teenage girl at the music festival tonight.'

'It seems an opportunity has presented itself,' Elijah commented, his tone as calm and collected as ever.

'Indeed it has brother. Getting her away from Camille should be fairly easy,' Nik said, sounding incredibly confident.

I could feel my stomach churn in with jealousy as he spoke and I knew what he was planning to do before he even said it. He squeezed my hand in reassurance, the mate bond obviously cluing him in on my feelings. Watching him flirt with someone else tonight was going to be interesting and I knew that I needed to prepare myself for it otherwise my anger might get in the way and ruin the whole plan; I couldn't help it though it was as if my whole body was telling me to make sure everyone knew he was _mine_ whenever a woman spoke to him as if he wasn't. Once we had all promised to meet back at the plantation to get ready for the festival at three in the afternoon; Bekah was planning on having a hair and make up crew waiting for me, Elena and Hayley, we were all free to go. Well, Nik and me were; everyone else was planning on staying in the house, as there wasn't really anything else that needed to be done. We went to Marcel's house in the quarter, hoping to run into Thierry and get his decision; he had the night to sleep on it and speak it over with his girlfriend, I for one had a feeling I knew what his choice was going to be.

'Twins, you know I think since you've arrived in town I've only seen you two apart a few times,' Marcel chuckled; I could feel his genuine amusement as well as his bewilderment, he wasn't used to seeing Klaus so close with a member of his family.

'What can I say? We're inseparable,' Klaus smirked, sending me an amused look that I knew would confuse anyone else; we _were_ inseparable just _not_ because we had a strong sibling bond.

'I see that,' Marcel replied, looking more thoughtful now as he glanced in between us both with an unreadable look on his face, though I could sense his curiosity.

'Anyway, anything interesting going on that you need a hand with? We're _bored_ ,' I asked, pouting slightly, as if I was a child begging for sweets.

'Actually, now that you mention it I haven't heard from Thierry since last night; he was supposed to be here this morning to help with the rounds of the city but he never checked in. It's unlike him. I was about to head over there myself but with one man down already I can't really afford to leave as well.' Marcel said, sounding conflicted and I could feel his genuine concern for his comrade.

'We'll look for him,' I said, walking backwards and dragging Nik with me by his arm, 'let you know if we find anything.' With those parting words we both turned and flashed away, into an abandoned alleyway in the quarter, where we could talk thorough our thoughts without being watched.

 _Oh, the irony,_ I thought with a grin as Nik rested his forehead against mine.

 _Indeed, love. Am I wrong in thinking that Thierry might actually be taking us up on our offer?_ He asked, matching my grin with one of his own.

 _No you're not and I know where he will be,_ I moved to place a kiss on his cheek but he turned so that I caught his lips instead. He smirked smugly when I gasped in surprise at the sudden contact; his lips against mine made me tingle in a way that only he could instigate. My hands went to the tops of his arms as I felt myself being pinned against the alley wall, Nik's body pressing completely against mine, making me bite back a moan. I looked up into his eyes and when I saw the hunger and want shining in them, much my own, I linked my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his, my whole body humming in pleasure. His hand slipped underneath my vest top, holding my waist so that I was pressed even more firmly against him, while his thumb moved gently back and forth causing my skin to break out in goose bumps when I shivered from the gesture. I felt him smirk against my lips at my reaction and I bit his lip to urge him to deepen the kiss; with a hungry growl, he complied. I moaned when his tongue entered my mouth, duelling against mine for a moment before he won the battle for authority; I loved that he always did. He dug his fingertips into my skin with the hand that had hold of my waist and I responded by running my nails along his scalp, using the grip I had on his hair for leverage; he groaned against my lips and I felt my own lips quirk up into a smile before I gasped in surprise when he lifted me up suddenly, using the grip he had on my legs to tie them around his waist before I linked my ankles to ensure that they wouldn't fall away. I grinded my hips against his, both of us releasing sounds of pleasure from the friction where we needed each other the most. Nik pulled away, resting his forehead against mine and smiling smugly when I released a sound of protest. I could sense his own desire and hunger and I knew that in that moment he wanted me just as much as I wanted him, but I knew that we couldn't exactly have sex unnoticed in a back alley in New Orleans, we were lucky to get away with what we had.

'Later, love,' he murmured, only loud enough for me to hear, his tone ringing with promise as his eyes flickered between mine, still darkened with lust.

'I'm going to hold you to that,' I smirked, unlinking my legs from his waist so that I slid slowly down his body, my smile growing when his eyes darkened even more before his gaze fell to my lips.

'We should go or we're never going to leave,' Nik said, grabbing my hand and hastily pulling me out of the alleyway after he checked that we could slip out without drawing attention to ourselves.

I chuckled at his insistence, knowing that he was close to dragging me home then and there so that we could finish what we had started, but as we walked he seemed to calm down, his hunger leaving him slowly. We made our way to Katie's house, my arm linked through his as we walked in comfortable silence. When we got there, I could already sense Thierry and Katie both inside as I raised my hand and knocked on the door. Nik quirked his brow, amused that I was actually knocking; I just gave him a stern look in response to remind him that though I had been invited in when I visited with Bekah, he hadn't. He rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't comment as we both moved our gazes to the door as it slowly opened, revealing Katie, she smiled in relief when she saw it was us; I assumed she was worried that Marcel was going to drop by in search of her boyfriend.

'Kim! It's good to see you,' she said; I could sense that she genuinely meant it.

'You too,' I returned her bright smile before I gestured to Klaus, 'this is Klaus, Klaus this is Katie.'

I could feel Nik's amusement over me introducing him; he just assumed that anyone and everyone had heard of him because he was the Original Hybrid, but in all fairness, though people had heard of him, that didn't necessarily mean they knew what he looked like.

'Ah, this is Klaus,' Katie's expression became one of realisation as she stepped back, taking the door with her and holding her arm in an outstretched manner, 'you can come in.'

'Why thank you,' Klaus said, his tone moderately sarcastic as we both walked forward and into the room immediately to our left, which turned out to be the living room.

The room was very light and open, almost like the kind of room you'd see on the front cover of a home wear catalogue; the walls were cream, as was the fluffy rug that sat on top of the hard wood flooring in the centre of the room. I looked over to Thierry who was sat on the brown fabric sofa that was placed along the same wall as the door.

'How did you know I'd be here?' Thierry asked, sounding genuinely surprised, causing Klaus and I to share an amused glance before we looked back over to him.

'Marcel said you were missing, we spoke to you about being loyal to us so that you could be with your girlfriend whenever you wanted, it wasn't that big of a leap to make, mate,' Klaus said, irony dripping from his tone.

'Oh, right,' Thierry said, running his hands through his hair; I could feel the paranoia coming from him in waves.

'Hey, are you alright?' I asked, my brow furrowing in concern as I sent waves of comfort towards him.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' he said, his smile much more relaxed as his suspicion ebbed away, he rested his hand on Katie's knee as she came to sit beside him on the sofa before he continued, 'we talked and… I'm with you.' I could feel his sincerity and the hope he was trying contain because he was afraid of Marcel finding out and punishing him for his betrayal.

'Fantastic,' Nik said, a smirk forming on his face, and if my arm wasn't still linked through his I had the suspicion that he would be rubbing his hands together in an eagerly.

'Thank you, Thierry,' I gave him a small, warm smile as I observed both his and Katie's desperation for this alliance to work for them and their relationship.

We didn't stay for much longer after that; we were nearing three in the afternoon and neither of us wanted to face Bekah's wrath if we weren't back in time. Sure enough as soon as we walked through the door we were ushered off in different directions; she had the stylists for the guys downstairs while the women's hair and make up team for the women were upstairs. I was stripped of my vest top, leather shorts and bra before I was put into a robe and then a chair to have my make up done.

'I have a bad feeling about tonight,' I said, moving to bite my nails but the technician who was still working on them swatted me away; my hair and make up were done now, I was just waiting for my nails to be finished and then I would just need my dress.

'No! We'll have no psychic premonitions to spoil the evening thank you very much,' Bekah said, not even opening her eyes as the woman behind her continued to curl her hair.

'A bad feeling as in someone's going to die or a bad feeling like a minor bump in the road?' Elena asked once the brunette applying her lipstick had finished, her voice sounding worried; Hayley glanced over to me from where she had just taken my seat to get her nails done, waiting for my answer.

'Minor bump,' I answered immediately, walking over to the bed, and holding my hands, which were painted a dark blue, gingerly in front of me as I waited for them to dry; I noticed that Hayley and Elena relaxed immediately.

'Well then, nothing to worry about,' Bekah waved her hand dismissively and I couldn't help but chuckle at how relaxed she was whenever she got her hair and make up done; I wouldn't have been surprised if she fell asleep.

'Alright princess,' I teased, laughing when Bekah lifted her hand and flipped me off.

Once my nails were dry the women then moved on to helping us into our dresses, though I had no idea what mine looked like; my eye shadow consisted of a sapphire blue and white, giving me the impression that my dress was going to be a shade of blue. I had no way of knowing though because Bekah made us shut our eyes as we were put into our outfits, wanting us to see the complete finished look in a mirror.

'Alright, now you can open your eyes,' Bekah said to us both, sounding a mixture of excited and proud and when I opened my eyes and saw my reflection, I knew why.

My dress was a sapphire blue, the kind that made my eyes stand out and it was made of the kind of material that adhered to the wearers body shape; it was fitted all the way to the bottom of my thighs where it then naturally flowed downwards, like a waterfall, to the floor; the stretchy fabric meant that I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to walk or sit down throughout the night. The top of the dress went all the way to the base of my neck, my arms being left bare; there were black beaded, vine like designs on either side of the waist as well as at the top of the neckline. The dress was beautiful and I found myself questioning if it was actually _me_ staring back in the mirror; my hair had been braided into a fishtail plait and styled so it fell over my left shoulder, coming to a stop just below my left breast. My make up, aside from the blue eye shadow, was natural, along with fake lashes, a blood red lip and bronzer.

'Well? What do you think?' Bekah asked, sounding nervous for the first time.

I didn't answer verbally, instead I just threw my arms around her neck and hugged her, trying not to cry because I knew Bekah would give me a berating if I ruined my make up. When I pulled away Bekah was immediately ushered into a double hug from Elena and Hayley; I could sense the happiness coming from them all and it made me smile, happy that they were happy. Elena was dressed in an emerald green dress that was made of the same material as mine, the only difference was hers didn't have the beading that mine did and her dress had a sweetheart neckline. Bekah was wearing a red, lacy dress the same colour as my lipstick. It was long sleeved, fitted and it cut off midway down her thighs. Hayley was wearing lacy a purple dress, similar to Bekah's, though hers was a skater dress, meaning that it was fitted to her waist, where it then fell loosely around her hips, cutting off just above her knees.

'You all look incredible,' I told them, returning their bright smiles before I continued, cutting off anything they might say to me; I hated the attention, 'we should go, the music festival is waiting.'

'How long do you think we should wait before we just drag them out of there? I mean they don't need this long to get ready,' Kol complained from downstairs, making me smile; the girls looked at me questioningly and I just pointed to my ear to indicate they needed to listen, though Bekah had to tell Hayley what we were all hearing.

'I'm sure they will be ready soon, brother,' Elijah said, his voice completely calm, though I could sense his impatience, I had a feeling he was desperate to be reunited with a certain werewolf.

'I don't know why they take so long anyway, it's not like they need the professional help,' Nik grumbled; I could practically picture the way his brows were furrowed into a frown.

'That is exactly my point, Nik!' Kol whined; I imagined he was about ten seconds away from stomping his foot and throwing a full-blown tantrum. We all rolled our eyes in unison, Elena then shaking her head fondly.

'Kol, I can assure you; your complaining isn't going to make them get ready any faster,' Elijah warned, starting to get annoyed with his brother.

'You know what, forget this,' Kol said abruptly, making me wonder what he was up to.

'Kol! You are not going upstairs, if you interrupt them getting ready, Bekah will have your head,' Nik said, sounding like he was restraining Kol, though Bekah did nod in agreement with his statement.

'We should probably put them out of their misery,' Hayley said with a laugh, linking her arm though mine, dragging me to the door with her. With a devilish grin I indicated for her to be quiet and flashed us downstairs to the living room; I had been fast enough to get us past the four brothers without disturbing them. Nik currently had Kol pinned to the far wall, while Elijah stood behind Nik, making sure he didn't do anything drastic, like snap his neck. Finn was perfectly relaxed on the sofa directly across from us and he was the only one who spotted when we arrived, though I did see Nik's shoulders stiffen as if his body noticed me before he did. I held my index finger up to my lips to indicate that he should be quiet. With an amused smile, he complied.

'Kol, I swear to god if you don't stop fighting I _will_ snap your neck,' Nik warned, sounding like he meant it though I could feel how much he didn't want to do that, as if Kol sensed it too he grinned smugly.

'You wouldn't do that, not only would it piss off Elena, but my bestie wouldn't be very happy with that development,' Kol said, sounding very sure of himself.

At the mention of my reaction, Nik stiffened even more, his expression murderous as he dropped his hand from Kol's neck effectively dropping him to the floor.

'I'm gonna say you were more afraid of Elena's reaction than mine, Nik,' I laughed, looking over to Elena and Bekah as they flashed to sit on the other side of Hayley and me on the sofa.

'No way, I _never_ get angry,' Elena argued, but she was smiling so I knew she was finding the whole situation as funny as I was.

'Do you remember that time I ripped your Just-,' I started but she slapped her hand over my mouth; apparently she didn't want people knowing about her obsession with Justin Bieber. I pulled her hand from my mouth without any effort and laughed when Bekah scolded her for nearly ruining my make up; thankfully I'd gotten away this time smear free. The men had been watching our interaction with shocked expressions on their faces, except for Finn, as they tried to pin point exactly how long we had been sitting there, eventually they snapped out of it and straightened. I met Nik's eyes and smiled softly when I saw the gentle but intense look he was giving me; I could feel the rest of the room starting to slip away but before I was too far gone Elijah walked over to Hayley, passing Nik and breaking the trance we had almost gotten lost in.

'We really should be going,' Elijah said, walking over to Hayley and offering her his hand. With a smile she took it and stood from the sofa, walking to the door with Elijah; I could feel the attraction coming from the both of them and it made me delighted; I loved seeing Elijah find someone for himself. Now we just had to get someone for Finn and Bekah; that was my next mission.

'Are you ready, love?' Nik's voice broke through my thoughts and I looked up to see him offering me his hand; I took it without hesitation, giving him a bright smile as I stood, 'you look beautiful,' he said, only loud enough for me to hear as we walked out of the door; I blushed and placed a kiss to his cheek in thanks, grateful that Bekah had insisted I use smear proof lipstick.

'I love you,' I whispered into his ear, placing a kiss to his pulse point before I pulled back, rubbing my thumb back and forth over the back of the hand that was linked in mine. He met my gaze, his eyes twinkling with affection as he stared back at me before he placed a tender kiss to my forehead.

'Come on you pair!' Bekah muttered, ushering us to the stretched black limo that was waiting for us. We flashed over to the car were Elijah and Hayley were already seated without another word and spent the rest of the drive with our hands intertwined sitting on his lap as I rested my head on his shoulder, resisting the urge to climb onto his lap and nuzzle my head into his neck. Nik ran his thumb back and forth over the back of the hand he was holding throughout the whole journey and placed soft kisses to my hair whenever he sensed that my nerves were reaching breaking point; the bad feeling I had earlier was growing the closer we got to the festival.

'We're here,' the driver told us as he came to a stop outside Marcel's house; the party was already in full swing by the looks of it and I was grateful that so far none of the vampires appeared to be snacking on the guests.

'He really went all out for this, didn't he?' Elena commented, looking around at the ice sculpture and chocolate fountain amongst all the other extravagant decorations.

'It would be much more impressive if he didn't have compulsion,' Bekah said, sounding a little offended that Marcel would be capable of throwing a good party.

I shook my head at her antics, smiling in amusement before I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly with my spare hand, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her before I said, 'I'm sure you'd throw a better party Bekah.'

Her unhappiness ebbed away with my touch and she smiled brightly at my comment, silently agreeing with me before she pulled Finn onto the dance floor, Elena following with Kol. I was about to suggest that we find Cami, seeing as Davina would be with her when a loud voice called over to us.

'The Mikaelson's have arrived! Now the party can _really_ get started!' Marcel's voice shouted over the sound system; my head whipped in the direction of the live band and sure enough, there he was, wearing a black and white tux with a huge grin. The crowd erupted in cheers when he finished speaking; all holding their glasses up in the air in a toast before the music started back up again and Marcel appeared in front of us in a flash.

'Marcellus, this is quite the party,' Nik said, using his free hand to pat him on his shoulder.

'Thanks, man; to be honest I didn't organise anything, I left it to my guys,' Marcel admitted.

'Well they did a good job,' I told him with a forced smile, managing to keep it in place as he moved forward and gave me a one armed hug; I felt Nik stiffen and I squeezed his hand in comfort, discretely moving back from Marcel. I saw Elijah leading Hayley to the dance floor out of the corner of my eye and I bit back a sigh of relief; I didn't particularly want Marcel anywhere near her with him having a deep hatred for werewolves.

'We're going to go and dance,' I said, giving Marcel a parting smile and leading Nik to the dance floor, getting as close to the speakers as possible encase any of the vampires in the room tried to eavesdrop.

'That was weird,' I muttered, low enough for only Nik to hear as we danced to the music.

'He likes you,' Nik said, sounding sure and pissed at the same time.

'No he doesn't,' I told him, because it was true, 'he's just trying to make Bekah jealous and pissed at me. That and he's seen how close we are and he wants to get a rise out of you; he knows how protective you are of Bekah, he probably thinks that you're worse with me.'

'That makes sense,' Nik agreed, his eyes flickering over to where Marcel was standing; I noticed that he was watching the both of us with interest before Nik and I looked back to each other, Nik's eyes glittering with amusement.

'I know what you're thinking and-,' I started but he cut me off by spinning me out before he pulled me back, promise shining in his eyes.

'You don't agree?' He asked, his smirk revealing his dimples.

'Actually,' I started trailing off as I leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss onto his lips before I pulled back, smiling at his surprise, 'I don't think it matters if they know the truth anymore. Plus I'm getting tired of keeping my hands and lips to myself in public.' I said; we shared a grin before his hands grasped my waist tightly and pulled me flush against him, closing the space between us as he captured my lips with his own. My own hands tangled into his hair, keeping his lips firmly against mine, the rest of the room falling away for a moment as we got lost in the kiss; I was putting how much I loved him into it and I could feel him doing the same. I was on the verge of reaching forward and ripping off his clothes, starting to get desperate for the feel of his skin against mine, but someone clearing their throat pulled us out of our moment, we broke away from the kiss; Nik rested his forehead against mine, his eyes shining with love and lust; I'm sure mine held the same emotions. We gathered our breath before we looked over to who had interrupted us and came face to face with Bekah and Finn; Bekah was angry while Finn was concerned; I sent waves of reassurance their way as I placed my arm around Nik's waist while his arm did the same.

'What the bloody hell are you two doing?' Bekah asked, keeping her voice low enough so that she wouldn't be overheard, though it appeared to be with a tremendous amount of effort.

'Going public?' I offered, giving her an ironic smile before I continued, 'it doesn't matter if they know Bekah, at least not anymore,' I assured her; Elena, Kol, Hayley and Elijah appeared just in time to hear my statement, everyone's expressions transforming to ones of relief simultaneously.

'Now that we've established that, let's try and look less conspicuous,' Elijah muttered, noticing that almost everyone was staring at us.

'Good idea,' Bekah said, stepping forward and grabbing Nik's hand yanking him away from me, 'you're going to dance with me for once, brother.'

'As you wish little sister,' he smirked, swirling her away; I laughed at the surprise on Bekah's face; she had been expecting him to protest.

'Come on, bestie you owe me a dance,' I smirked yanking him away from Elena, much to his displeasure; he looked ready to protest but I had already pulled him onto a different part of the dance floor and he started subconsciously leading me without realising it.

'How are you feeling tonight, darling? I heard that you had a bad feeling?' He asked once he stopped sulking that I had pulled him away from his date.

'So far so good; something tells me it's over the witch,' I murmured, making sure my voice was at a volume that only he could hear.

'You'll figure it out, bestie. You always do,' he said, smiling genuinely, which I returned.

'I hope so; she's Marcel's main weapon and honestly the poor girl doesn't deserve to be used like that; she's a teenager she deserves a semi normal life at least.' I muttered, trying not to let the sorrow I felt for Davina overcome me.

'You are far too good for Nik, darling,' Kol shook his head with a disbelieving smile on his face, I simply rolled my eyes in an exaggerated manner but otherwise didn't comment. He was about to say something else when I caught a flash of blonde hair over his shoulder heading towards the bar; it was Cami with a brunette; she was clearly a teenage girl and she was wearing a white dress that was fitted to her waist where it then puffed out, cutting off just above her knees. After I made sure Marcel's attention was elsewhere, I grabbed Kol's hand and dragged him over to the bar without an explanation.

'Darling what the? -' He stopped when he saw where I was taking him before he looked to me with an amused expression, 'thirsty?'

'Yes,' I said reaching behind the bar for a bottle of whiskey before I "accidentally" bumped into Cami; she had her back to me as she faced the teenager she was with.

'I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going…' I trailed off as Cami turned around, 'wait I know you, don't you work at Rousseau's?'

'I do, you're the first girl I asked for I.D.' She said, her face lighting up in recognition as she gave me a warm smile.

'Yup that's me, otherwise known as Kim,' I smiled, offering her the hand that wasn't still holding Kol's; she shook it as she told me her name, though I already knew it.

'This is Kol, my little brother.' I said, gesturing to the tall brunette beside me as he finally caught on to what I was up to.

'Lovely to meet you,' Kol smiled brightly offering his other hand to her, she shook it with a smile before she turned, bringing forward the girl who was stood behind her up until that moment, she looked between me and Kol with a shy smile on her face that made me just want to hug her.

'This is Davina,' Cami said, smiling encouragingly to the teenager.

She shook Kol's hand and when she held her hand out to me I ignored it, stepping forward and pulling her into a hug, amplifying the comfort that I was sending towards her. Davina hesitated for a moment but she hugged me back; I released her when I sensed that she was now completely calm.

'Nice to meet you, Davina.' I said, offering her a warm smile, which she returned.

We chatted for a moment longer before Cami whisked her away, muttering something about introducing her to more people but Davina promised she would find us later. I managed to steal Kol for one more dance before he went back to Elena. At that point I looked around for Nik, the feeling of concern growing in my gut when I couldn't find him and when I couldn't see Davina either, that was when I knew the bad feeling I had been feeling all night was to do with him messing up the plan. I sighed in annoyance and managed to slip out of the party without anyone seeing me before I focused on Nik and his scent; once I had located him I listened to my senses and followed the direction that the pulling in my heart told me to go in; I was led to an abandoned church and when I listened I heard three heart beats; Klaus, Davina and someone else. Without another thought I opened the door and walked inside, being sure to remain silent as I listened to what Klaus was saying to Davina.

'All I'm saying is that Marcel doesn't care about you. He's only using you for your power, and personally I think that's a little unfair,' Nik said, his voice condescending.

'You're lying!' Davina shouted, I could sense her anger and I winced when I felt Nik's pain as she threw him against the wall hard enough to dent the plaster.

'All right, I tried it the nice way, now lets see if this works for you,' Nik said, his voice dropping in a way that made me nervous, I could feel his frustration and I knew he was going to do something stupid, 'come on out, Tim.'

I heard another presence enter the room and I felt Davina's worry, but it was only present for a moment before she became angry. That was the moment I decided to step forward, but Klaus didn't notice me and what he said next made me shake my head in disbelief.

'Either you join me, or I'm going to start killing the bloke's you fancy.' Nik muttered, a dangerous smile on his face.

Before Davina could respond I flashed forward, taking Tim from his arms and shoving Nik back a step. I gestured to Tim, urging him to leave, knowing that if he stayed he might get in the middle of a fight he wouldn't survive.

'Are you out of your mind?' I shouted to Nik, flashing to stand beside Davina; I could feel her apprehension at my presence and I automatically sent comforting waves in her direction without even thinking.

'Not particularly, no,' Nik answered, his hands clasped behind his back as he regarded Davina and me.

'Tell me you did not just threaten a teenage girl with her first love's life,' I said, my hand going to my forehead as I tried to ease the tension that was building up.

'I would but something tells me you already know the answer to that, love,' Nik smirked.

'Ignore him; he lets his impatience get the best of him sometimes. What he meant to say was Marcel does care about you but at the same time he's selfish over your needs, honey. You're a teenage girl and you deserve to live like one. You deserve to have a crush and go shopping with your friends without worrying about being kidnapped and used in some creepy Harvest ritual. If you trust us we can promise you a normal life.' I said to her, making sure that my voice remained soft as I squeezed her hand, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her; much like Thierry she had too many emotions playing on her mind and I was trying to calm her down enough to allow her to think clearly.

'Marcel saved me,' she answered, meeting my gaze, her eyes pleading with me to understand.

'He did,' I smiled before I continued, 'and you've repaid him by serving him and living god knows where for the past eight months. Him saving your life doesn't mean that you owe him by spending yours devoted to him; you deserve your own life, you deserve to do what _you_ want to do. And if you chose to stand by Marcel then that's fine, I'll completely understand and I won't say anymore about it,' I said, my voice gentle as I held my hand up in Nik's direction cutting off the protest I knew he was about to voice, 'just think about it, all right? Though I don't know how I'm going to find you for an answer; something tells me that Marcel doesn't let you out that often.'

A small laugh left her as her eyes pooled with tears, 'come here tomorrow at six in the morning, just make sure Marcel is gone before you come in; he usually meets me here every morning at around five thirty and he's usually gone by six, but you never know.'

'Okay, honey, we'll be here.' I promised her, trying not to show how horrified I was at the idea of getting up before ten in the morning as I pulled her into a hug, placing a kiss to her cheek before I grabbed Nik and left; we flashed back to the house, neither of us in the mood for a party.

'What the hell was that?' I demanded, kicking off my shoes in the hallway as I reached up to untangle my hair from the braid it was contained in.

'I was taking care of it,' Nik insisted, kicking his own shoes off before he pulled off his jacket and hung it over the banister on the staircase.

'Taking care of it? She was about to go nuclear on your ass, you idiot! Blackmailing teenage girls is _not_ a good idea, especially not one with that much power!' I yelled back, crossing my arms over my chest.

'My method has worked perfectly well for centuries, love,' he refused to admit that he had done anything wrong.

'Well believe the quadbrid, it wouldn't have worked out tonight,' I said poking his chest in annoyance and enough force to make him take a step back.

'Well we'll never know now, will we?' Nik smirked, but I could feel and see the annoyance just beneath the surface, 'you need to trust me, love.' He stepped forward so that there was only an inch between us.

' _You_ need to trust _me,_ Nik!' I yelled back, staring him down before my gaze flickered down to his tantalising red lips, my eyes darkening with lust as I met his gaze again; I could see his eyes reflecting the same emotions before he suddenly flashed me over to the wall, roughly pinning me against it as his lips met mine. I bit his lip asking him to deepen the kiss, hard enough to draw blood; the taste of his blood in my mouth made me moan in pleasure while he growled in approval, his tongue invading my mouth as he reached down and lifted my right leg up, holding it around his hip before he roughly pushed his hips forward into mine. I moaned at the friction before I removed my hands from his hair and ripped open his shirt, I pushed it to the floor as I leaned forward, allowing my quadbrid face to appear as I bit over his mark, his blood trickling down my throat as I grinded my hips against his, the pleasure overwhelming me. I heard him growl hungrily before I felt his fangs sink over my own mark that was already open as he drank from me.

My back arched as he consumed me and my hands went to the dip in his spine, scratching hard enough to break the skin as the gratification built up higher and higher inside of me. All too soon we pulled away from each other, our fangs withdrawing as our lips connected again; we both moaned, as we tasted our blood mixed together when his tongue entered my mouth once again. I went to flash us upstairs to our room but somehow ended up on my back against the stairs as Klaus' lips moved from my mouth, down to my jaw; I moved my head to the side to give him better access to my neck as he nipped and sucked his way down. He pulled back when he realised that I was still wearing my dress and it was obstructing his access, without a moment's hesitation he ripped the dress from my body; in the back of my mind I knew Bekah was going to be pissed but in that moment I just didn't care. His mouth was on my skin again as he trailed down to my collarbone, growling when he noticed that I wasn't wearing a bra before he took my left breast into his mouth, his teeth and tongue working over me in a way that made a deep moan protrude from my throat.

My hands tangled into his hair, as my hips arched as I desperately tried to gain any kind of friction, but his hands trailed down to my hips never leaving my skin, causing a trail of goose bumps behind as he held me in place. Nik's lips moved from my breast, trailing down my abdomen, kissing me softly as he went. His hands continued to trail down my sides, taking my underwear on his way, throwing them away in flash before his mouth was where I needed him the most, his lips and tongue moving over and devouring me in a way that made my eyes roll into the back of my head and my hands dig into his shoulders, my nails breaking the skin as he continued to move his exceptional mouth over me. I could feel myself ready to fall over the edge and he knew it too; he reached up, massaging my breast, his teeth grazing me softly and that was all it took as I reached my climax, gasping so hard my lungs hurt.

I felt him smirk against my stomach as he kissed my abdomen while I recovered, my hands absentmindedly playing with his hair before his lips connected with mine once again. I felt his hands wrap around my waist and I linked my legs around his as he lifted me from the stairs, flashing up to our bedroom and laying me on the sheets all the while not moving his lips from mine. He entered me in one swift movement, my heels resting in the dip of his back as my knees fell to the side, providing him with better access and allowing him to penetrate me deeper, his broad frame pressing against my entire body as he did. His lips moved to my neck, biting, nipping, sucking and basically overriding my body with complete ecstasy, his hands sliding down each of my arms, entwining with my hands as he pinned them to the mattress above me. I was completely vulnerable to whatever he wanted to do to me and I loved _every single second._ It wasn't long before we both fell over the edge together, our screams of ecstasy swallowed in our frenzied kiss. He rested his forehead against mine as we regained our breath, sharing a grin before Nik turned over and pulled me against his chest, my head resting in the crook of his neck while my legs tangled with his.

'I do trust you, you know,' Nik eventually said, his voice soft as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through my hair.

'I know you do,' I said resting my head on his chest as I looked up at him, 'you're just not used to accepting help and that's okay.'

'It's not just that; I'm paranoid and a voice in my head is always telling me not to rely on anyone else, that _I_ have to be the one to get things done if I am to succeed.' Nik admitted, his voice almost _ashamed_ as he explained to me why he had acted the way he did.

'So you threatened Davina because the paranoid part of you told you that they only way to get her on our side was to threaten those she loves and force her hand?' I clarified, giving him a soft smile when he nodded guiltily, 'you have nothing to be ashamed of; I know you, remember? I _love_ you, and you wouldn't be you if you weren't a little paranoid.'

'That's it?' Nik asked, sounding surprised before he continued, 'aren't you going to yell at me for going behind your back?'

'No, because I understand why you did it, so I'm going to let it slide this once on one condition,' I smiled, my hand going to the side of his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly, 'every time that voice in your head tells you that you can't trust anyone and that you have to do everything yourself; tell it to fuck off. I love you, your family loves you and you will always have us for anything. We deal with things _together_ from now on. Deal?'

He regarded me for a moment, his apprehension ebbing away as his whole expression softened, 'It's a deal, love.'

I focused on him for a moment, and when I felt his sincerity I leaned forward, capturing his lips in a brief, tender kiss before my head rested in the crook of his neck again, inhaling his scent, grateful when it carried me off to unconsciousness.

 **There's chapter twenty nine! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to Wolf2023 and petrichorsolivagant for choosing to either follow or favourite my story, it means a lot :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: Might their kingdom rise! They are so perfect for each other, I can't stop saying that :D The prophecy showed how beautiful New Orleans could be :) Do you plan something for Finn? So sad to see/read him alone T.T. Can't wait for the moment Marcel realize what they plan :D Loved reading it and can't wait for more :) Good job, Vampes! XX**_ **Thank you, lovely, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter- I hope you liked this one too :) I'm glad you like them together; I've wanted to see Klaus with someone who actually understands him for so long; Kim doesn't hold his outbursts or mistakes against him, she just accepts him for who he is. Things might be looking up for Finn soon… We'll see ;)**

 _ **Guest: This story is really great! I hope it continues to be so awesome and I especially like Kim and Klaus together! I love the little changes you made to the original plot and I absolutely LOVE Kol and Elena! Will you introduce Sage for Finn and someone for Rebekah? I really hope so cause they are one of my fav characters!**_ **Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you continue to :) I'm thinking about introducing someone for Finn, but I don't think it will be Sage, but definitely someone who is suited to him; might be a little bit of a wait though. I haven't decided with Rebekah yet, you shall just have to wait and see ;)**


	30. Witchy Interference

Chapter Thirty

Klaus' P.O.V.

 _I was walking through the woods, not far from our house near the creek. Mikael was training Elijah and Finn, meaning that he was distracted enough for me to slip away unnoticed, which I was taking full advantage of. Bekah, Henrik and Kol were with mother, learning witchcraft, something that had never interested me. Meaning that both of my parents were distracted enough for me to be able to go to my favourite place, one that no one knew about, not even Bekah. I smiled when I could hear the trickling of the waterfall, a sound that assured me that I didn't have much further to go._

 _Sure enough, a few moments later, I reached it; the waterfall flowed beautifully, gracefully and my fingers itched to capture the sight. I sat down at the edge of the water, pulling the slate and crushed up berries I had gathered on my way here and I began to paint the way that the water flowed, the different shades of blue and white, the ripples that were created as the water cascaded into the pool below. I was painting for a while when something caught my eye, a glimmer of gold that reminded me of honey, as I looked over I realised it was a young woman; she moved with grace and effortless elegance that immediately captured my attention._

 _I found myself staring, captivated by the way her long, loose golden locks moved, blowing in my direction with the soft breeze, the way her olive complexion seemed to stand out as she stood parallel to the waterfall, the blues making her eyes pop, the way her hips swayed from side to side... she was exquisite. A part of me felt like I needed to know her, but a niggling feeling at the back of my mind told me that I already did, and that confused me. Because how would I know her? If she lived in our village I was positive that I would have remembered her, in fact her beauty would have captivated all of the men in the village, and caused a lot of duels as a result for her hand in marriage._

' _Do you live near here?' A soft female voice asked from beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts, causing me to realise that the beauty from across the water was now standing right next to me._

' _Not too far,' I answered her with a smile, praying that my heart wasn't pounding too hard for her to hear, 'what about you?'_

' _I'm just passing through,' she answered, a secretive smile on her lips as she sat beside me, close enough that our arms almost touched._

' _Passing through to where?' I asked her, trying to ignore the affect her proximity had on my body._

' _I don't know yet. I suppose I shall know when I get there,' she grinned, which seemed to somehow make the world around her brighter._

' _How very curious,' I smirked, moving to place my painting to the side but she caught my arm before I could, making my heart beat stutter._

' _It's beautiful,' she said, her voice so low that I almost didn't hear her. She moved the hand that wasn't grasped around my wrist to hover over the paint, her eyes now closed, as if she was trying to feel the painting as well as observe it, her appreciation and respect for my work made me stare at her expression, awed._

' _I can almost feel the emotion behind the art. It suggests such peace, such tranquillity.' Her smile was one of complete happiness, and I felt my fingers itching to capture her expression in that moment._

' _Why don't you take it?' I said when she opened her eyes and looked over to me, looking a little bashful at her reaction to my art, but I loved it; usually my art was regarded as pathetic and un-masculine, she was the first one that didn't make me feel like a fool for loving to paint._

' _But it's yours,' she said, looking surprised that I would just give it to her, but that just made me more determined for her to accept it._

' _Not anymore. It belongs to you now,' I told her, placing the slate gently on her lap, knowing that it was rather on the heavy side._

' _Thank you.' She said, her eyes on the painting as her fingers traced over my signature on the bottom right hand corner, 'Niklaus Mikaelson.' She whispered, looking over to me a smile lighting up her face, 'I like it. It suits you.'_

 _I grinned at her, thinking that I liked the way that she said my name, but I was too anxious to voice that thought out loud, 'and what is your name?' I asked her, smiling when she gently placed the painting to the side; the way she handled it suggested that she truly liked it._

' _You know my name, Nik,' she smiled suddenly sitting up on her knees and then before I knew it she was straddling my legs, her hands on my shoulders as she grinned down at me. I had my hands up in a defensive gesture, as if to convey my innocence in the situation, my face painted with shock, which only seemed to add to her own mirth._

' _What are you-,' I started to ask her, but she cut me off when she placed a tender kiss to my lips, pulling away and resting her forehead against mine. I couldn't deny that her touch, her presence, felt so familiar and it was almost as if she was_ _ **meant**_ _for me. She was right; I did know her, but in that moment I just couldn't place how. Her hands moved to tangle in my shoulder length curls, my eyes closing from the pleasure of it. My own hands gripped her waist tighter, pulling her closer to me, though I couldn't recall bringing my hands to her waist to begin with. It was as if my body remembered her, but my mind was having a hard time of catching up._

' _What is my name, Nik?' She whispered, her lips a hairs width away from mine. I was denied the opportunity to answer when she bought her lips to mine, one of her hands caressing the side of my face while the other remained tangled in my hair. An animalistic growl erupted from me when she bit my lip, and I kissed her back with dominance that I didn't know I was capable of, one of my hands in the middle of her back, holding her flush against me, while the other moved to the back of her head, assuring that she didn't sustain any injuries when I suddenly flipped us over, laying her back against the soft emerald green grass. I sat up, leaning on my knees as I gazed down at her, completely astounded that this woman wanted me. No one ever wanted me, not my own parents and sometimes not even my siblings. She bought one of her hands to caress the side of my face, her thumb moving back and forth softly, snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing her soft, beautiful smile into view._

' _I will always want you, Nik. Always and forever,' she promised me, her words warming my heart in a way I had never experienced before._

' _I-,' just as I was about to tell her the same thing I cut off, horrified when a sword was plunged into her heart. I looked up to see the culprit, Mikael standing behind her head, a cruel expression present on his face, one that I was usually on the receiving end of._

' _Let this be a lesson to you, Niklaus. Love is a weakness, women serve one purpose only and that is to bear our children and carry on our family name.' Mikael shouted, pulling his sword from the dead beauty lay on the grass before he walked away._

' _No,' I whispered my hand going to the side of her face as I caressed her cheek, 'please don't be dead, please. NO!' I shouted, my head tilted to the sky in despair._

I shot up in the bed, gasping for air, feeling incredibly disorientated. The sheets were tangled around my legs and I was covered in sweat, but that wasn't what bothered me the most; what instigated fear within me after the dream I had just had was the fact that Kimberly wasn't next to me like she usually was. I calmed down my own breathing as I sought out her scent and her heartbeat, throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants before I flashed in the direction that my senses told me to go in. Her scent led me to the kitchen and when the refrigerator door closed to reveal her, wearing one of my shirts, bed hair and holding a blood bag I had never felt more relieved. I flashed over to her, pulling her into my arms, burying my head into her neck, inhaling her scent, squeezing her tighter as if to assure myself that she was really there. I felt the exact moment that she caught on to my feelings, because the remaining anxiety and worry that hadn't yet disappeared was gone as if it was never there and was replaced by the calm that had already started coming over me as I enveloped her in my embrace.

'What's wrong, Nik?' She asked, her voice soft as she placed the blood bag she had been holding onto the counter so that she could embrace me tighter, her hands flat on my back, her thumbs moving back and forth comfortingly.

'Bad dream,' I muttered, not wanting to tell her about it as now that I had calmed down I felt a little embarrassed over my reaction.

'You can tell me anything, you know.' She murmured against my chest, probably knowing what I was feeling before I did.

I sighed in defeat and told her about the dream in as much detail as I could muster, focused on her feelings the entire time, afraid that she was going to think I was being pathetic, but the only emotions I picked up from her were happiness when I told her about our meeting by the waterfall and anger when I recited what Mikael had done.

'He can't hurt you or anyone you care about anymore, Nik. He's gone, _forever,'_ she said, her voice firm as she pulled away from my chest, her hands going to either side of my face as she forced me to meet her gaze, allowing me to see the sincerity in her eyes. I nodded and rested my forehead against hers, placing a soft kiss to her lips, enjoying the sweet way she always tasted.

'We should get ready. We have to meet Davina soon, my love.' She murmured against my chest a few moments later.

'I suppose we do.' I sighed, feigning annoyance, which was much more difficult with her term of endearment for me; I smirked at her when she pulled away and gave me a mock glare.

'And we should probably move the shredded clothes from the stairs,' she muttered scratching her head sheepishly with the hand that wasn't laced through mine as she led us upstairs, coming to a stop at the bottom of the grand staircase.

'I don't mind, love,' I smirked when I noticed her flush as she stared where we had been intimate the night before and when I felt her lust I knew she was reliving it, which made me grin smugly.

'You know-,' I started, but she cut me off by suddenly slapping a hand over my mouth.

'I know where you're going with that and I don't think I'll be able to resist, so please don't finish that sentence,' she said, her voice pleading and when I felt the barely concealed lust coming from her I knew she was telling the truth; my brow quirked in amusement and smugness when I sensed this, causing her to huff in frustration.

Before I could even comprehend it, she had removed her hand from my mouth and flashed upstairs, taking the shredded garments that had been littered on the floor with her. I smirked and shook my head in amusement before I followed after her, only to find her already dressed for the day; she was wearing black skinny jeans that cut off just above her waist and a dark blue vest top that moulded to her figure. Kimberly grinned at me when she noticed my disappointment, coming to a stop in front of me and placing a soft kiss to my cheek before she whispered, 'later,' much like I had the day before. When she moved to walk away I grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush against me, gently brushing her loose curls away from her face as I whispered back, 'I'll hold you to that, love.' My voice mirroring the promise that had been present in hers moments before, her eyes darkening with lust as she stared at my lips. I stayed perfectly still, wanting her to be the one to make the decision; I could see and feel the battle she was having with herself, but eventually she placed a kiss to my lips and told me to get ready before she left, pausing on the other side of the door to regain her breath and to squelch her lust, and honestly I needed a moment to do the same.

Kim's P.O.V.

Once Nik had gotten dressed and we were both less… _excited_ we were ready to leave the plantation; we flashed to the abandoned church where we had met Davina the night before. We stopped just outside the doors to listen for any extra heartbeats before we entered, encase Marcel was still there. When we had established that Davina was in fact the only one in the church, we entered, taking a seat on one of the front pews while we waited for her to show.

'How do you think this is going to go?' Nik asked, looking around the abandoned church with little interest, drumming his fingertips on his thighs.

'It could go either way,' I told him honestly, sending him a comforting wave when I felt the displeasure building within him, 'she's at odds with herself, she wants what we offered her but she doesn't want to betray Marcel, which is fair enough I suppose.'

'Love, if she doesn't come to our side, we're going to try my way,' Nik warned, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.

I rolled my eyes at his comment but otherwise didn't answer, though I did take his hand in mine, entwining our fingers to amplify the calm I was sending towards him; I didn't want his anger and impatience taking over and ruining our chances of making a truce. I was glad when his entire demeanour became calm, just as Davina walked into the room, coming from the door that led to the attic. We both stood just as she made our way over to us, I kept my hand entwined with Klaus' not wanting her to overanalyse my actions towards her.

'Thank you for coming,' she said, sounding nervous; I sent her a comforting wave and offered her a soft smile when she looked in my direction, which seemed to offer her the strength she needed to carry on talking, 'I've been thinking a lot about your offer and as _wonderful_ a normal life sounds, I can't betray the man who saved my life to get it.'

'I get that,' I assured her, my hold on Nik's hand becoming more restraining than comforting.

' _But_ I'm not going to turn my back on you either. You've been kind to me, and I believe you're a good person who I can trust.' She continued, looking only to me.

'Okay so you're neutral?' I asked, smiling when she nodded, 'I'm good with that.' I squeezed her arm in an assuring way; I would have hugged her but I could feel Nik's frustration in that moment and I didn't know what he would do if I released him.

Davina handed her phone over and I put my number into it, as well as everyone else's; you never knew when they would come in handy. Once that was done, we parted ways and decided to go to Rousseau's for something to eat; I wanted food but I suspected that Nik would be feeding off an unsuspecting tourist for breakfast. We walked straight to an empty table when we entered the bar, both of us sitting on one side of the booth, me leaning into Nik's side while his arm rested over my shoulders, his index finger absentmindedly drawing shapes on the bare skin of my arm we both decided what we were going to indulge in.

'Hey, Kim! What are you doing in here so early?' Cami asked, her voice bright as she stopped at the end of our booth, pen and paper in hand.

'I'm starving and craving something sugary and delicious; what would you suggest?' I said, giving up glancing over the menu as I looked to her instead.

'Maple syrup pancakes.' She answered immediately, already writing it on her pad, making me smirk in response.

'What about to drink?' I said once she had written my food down.

'Way ahead of you,' she winked before she looked over to Klaus, 'can I get you anything?'

When he didn't answer I turned to look at him as well and noticed he was lost in thought, staring at me. I placed my hand on his thigh and softly said his name, loud enough for only him to hear; he broke out of his trance with a startled breath, his eyes becoming more focused as they fixated on me.

'Can I get you anything?' Cami asked again, her voice a mixture of concerned and patient.

'Nothing for me, sweetheart,' Nik eventually said, offering her a forced smile before his eyes returned to me.

'Okay I'll go and put your order in.' Cami offered us a bright smile before she left. As soon as she was gone I rested my head on Nik's shoulder my face tilting into the crook of his neck as I inhaled his scent, suddenly feeling completely calm as I did. I placed a kiss to the side of his neck, both of us sitting in comfortable silence as Nik's chin rested on top of my head, the hand that was on my shoulders now wound around my waist as he held me to him.

 _What were you thinking about, Nik?_ I asked him through my thoughts, knowing that there were a few of Marcel's vampires in the bar at that moment.

 _Just about the little witch, love._ He answered, his other hand playing with my hair.

 _Are you mad that I didn't make her pick a side?_ I asked.

 _I was at first, but now that I've thought about it, your way is better. If we force her hand she only would have stayed loyal for as long as it took for her to find a way to turn on us, by giving her a choice your making that less likely._ He replied, his hand continuing to move through my hair, almost putting me to sleep.

 _I suppose. Honestly I didn't even think of it like that; I just go with what feels right._

 _It's good that you trust your instincts, love. I forgot how to do that a long time ago._

 _Well maybe you can learn again, Nik. It's not too late._

 _Maybe, love._

I heard the clatter of glass on the table and reluctantly sat up; going back to the original position we were in when we entered the bar.

'Thanks, Cami,' I said, giving her a bright smile, which only grew when I saw the drink she had put in front of me: hot chocolate. I could feel both her and Nik's amusement when I immediately took a sip, softly moaning at how good it tasted.

'Do you approve?' Cami asked with a laugh.

'Oh yeah,' I grinned, taking another sip; it was _incredible._

With an amused shake of her head she left, attending to the new customers who had just walked in. Nik and I idly chatted and while I ate my pancakes; he compelled one of the tourists to fill a cup with blood for his own breakfast. Cami had just set down a fresh hot chocolate and taken away my empty plate and mug when the door swung open revealing trouble in the form of Marcel Gerard.

'I am in no mood for this,' I muttered, leaning into Nik's side as his arm moved to settle on my waist, his thumb moving back and forth comfortingly.

Marcel's eyes scanned the room, a fake grin taking over his face as he made his way over to us, two of his guys flanking him.

'Well, look who it is. Klaus Mikaelson and the girlfriend he's been lying about,' he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he slid into the empty seat across from us.

'Someone's sulking,' I commented, my brow quirking in amusement.

'I have to say; Kol finding a girl was a surprise, but _Klaus Mikaelson?_ I'm not going to lie to you, I _never_ saw that one happening.' Marcel said, regarding Klaus' arm around me, his expression suggesting disbelief but I could feel that he was calculating how he could use this against us.

'Is that why you're here? Because we were keeping secrets from the King of New Orleans?' Nik asked with a smirk, but I could feel that he was nervous about what him knowing about us would mean for me.

'Nah, man you're entitled to your secrets. I'm just curious as to why you had to lie?' Marcel grinned, probably trying to look inviting but he just looked manic.

'It's pretty obvious if you think about it. You're a smart boy you figure it out,' I told him, wanting to know what his theories were.

'You see, I have been giving it a lot of thought since I saw you two last night. The obvious choice would be that Klaus has made himself some enemies over the years, so it would be less likely for people to use her as a weakness if she was an un-killable Original hybrid.' Marcel studied both of our expressions as we spoke; I kept my face blank, knowing that Nik was doing the same. We shared an amused look before are gazes returned to Marcel.

'You caught us. Not as clever as we thought, obviously.' Nik said, an amused smirk painting his face.

'What I don't get, if that was the plan, why ruin it all by showing yourselves last night?' He asked, genuinely curious.

'Got tired of keeping it a secret, and we were only keeping it a hush-hush until we had decided if you were a threat or not. We don't think you are,' I shrugged nonchalantly as I rested one of my hands on Nik's thigh.

'I see. Well fair enough.' He smiled before he looked up to one of his guys when they gestured to him, 'well I should be going, werewolves in the quarter apparently.'

'Have fun,' Nik smirked, though it immediately dropped as soon as Marcel and his cronies walked out of the door.

'That should keep him busy,' I muttered, placing my phone back on the table before I picked up my hot chocolate and took a huge gulp; I had texted Katie to give Thierry a fake tip on werewolves in the quarter.

'You did that?' he asked, his smirk returning when I nodded, 'I'm impressed, love.'

'He was asking too many questions and I could feel how curious he was about us. I think he's going to try and use this against you, me as a bargaining chip to keep you in line.' I told him, my voice low as I offered him my drink; he took a sip before he placed it on the table in front of us.

'If he tries that he will know pain greater than he could ever possibly imagine.' Nik promised, a dangerous smile lighting up his face.

'Well he knows how you get when someone threatens people you love, so I'm hoping that he won't be that detrimentally stupid.' I replied, resting my head on his shoulder, my face tilted towards his neck.

'Sometimes having the reputation of a villain comes in handy,' he commented dryly, making me laugh.

We didn't stay in Rousseau's for much longer; I finished my drink, paid for the meal and left Cami a decent sized tip. We were just walking back to the plantation, Nik telling me stories of him and his siblings growing up, while they were still human. I was smiling softly at the story of him making Bekah a wooden horse figurine to help her sleep through the storms that used to plague their village when my phone started to ring in my back pocket; before I even answered it I knew it was going to be bad news.

'What's wrong?' I asked Kol immediately, forgoing usual greetings.

'It's Elena, darling. The witches found out about Sophie's link to her and they kidnapped her and made her drink a poison specifically designed for vampires.' Kol answered, his voice completely frantic.

'Okay, Kol, calm down. Elena needs you composed right now,' I told him, though I could feel my own heartbeat rise erratically as panic started to grow within me; Nik sensed it and pulled my back against his chest, his hands on my hips, his head resting on my shoulder as he placed a kiss to the side of my neck; just like that I was completely calm.

'Alright. I'm calm.' Kol said, though I wondered if he was trying to convince himself or me.

'Tell me why the witches have done this. Maybe if we can figure out the why we can convince them to reverse it?' I suggested.

'Sophie said that they were pissed at her for bringing the Original family to New Orleans. Apparently bringing in more vampires to fix the vampire problem was not alright with them; not to mention Sabine had a vision of us ruining the city even more than Marcel currently is.' Kol reiterated, his voice completely pissed off.

'Sabine isn't a prophet though is she?' I asked as Nik picked me up bridal style, ready to flash us back to the plantation.

'No, according to Sophie her visions are interpretive. She doesn't get clear images like prophet's do, she gets a feeling and then something to link it with.' Kol explained.

'So she could have had the bad feeling towards us because of something that has nothing to do with us leading New Orleans?' I clarified, placing a kiss to Nik's neck in silent thanks.

'Exactly.' Kol agreed.

'Elena is going to be fine, Kol. I promise you. We're on our way back and we can figure out exactly what we're going to do when we get there.'

'Okay bestie.' He sounded much more relived as he hung up the phone.

'I'm going to kill her for this.' I muttered as I slipped my phone into my front jeans pocket.

Nik quirked his eyebrow in amusement but otherwise didn't answer as he flashed us back to the plantation, gently placing me on the floor with a kiss to my forehead to quell my nerves. I gave him a soft smile in thanks before I went to look for my sister; she was in her and Kol's room, lying fully dressed on top of the covers, looking sweaty and pale. Kol was sitting next to her, holding her hand, his face lined with concern.

'Hey, Lena.' I said, my voice soft as I kneeled beside her, taking her free hand in mine; I took all of her pain, hiding the wince of discomfort as I did; each cell in her body felt like it was on fire and her heart felt like it was being squeezed.

'Don't do that, I'm fine.' She scolded me, colour already returning to her cheeks.

'If I can help then I'm going to, so stop complaining.' I muttered rolling my eyes playfully.

'So how long do you think I have?' She asked, her voice low; I assumed to prevent it from breaking.

'You are going to be fine,' I told her, my free hand gently tucking her damp hair behind her ear as I stared into her eyes, allowing her to see the complete sincerity shining within them. When I felt her relief I knew that she believed me, and she should; we were going to find a way out of this and then I was going to kill that Sabine bitch for going after my sister.

'I'll be back as soon as I can, okay? I'm going to see a witch about unlinking you from Sophie but first I need to find a spell that could-' I was cut off when Kol interrupted.

'My Mother has an unlinking spell in one of her grimoire's. I used to know where they were before, but then I was daggered for a century. The best bet would be Elijah.' Kol said, moving to stand up from the bed and go and ask him himself.

'You stay with Elena, I'm going to fix this,' I promised them both, placing a kiss to Elena's forehead before I left, fighting back the tears I felt both from the fresh pain I had taken from Elena as I walked out the door, as well as the sight of my sister so weak and helpless.

Once Elijah had presented me with the page that contained the unlinking spell from one of his Mother's grimoire's, I immediately made my way over to Davina's. I showed her the spell and explained that my sister's life was on the line; her whole demeanour had softened when I had told her that. She promised me that she would complete the spell, as quickly as she could, and as soon as the words left her mouth, I _knew_ that Elena was going to be alright. I hugged her before I left, now immensely relieved, though I had already known Elena was going to be alright it was nice to have it confirmed.

As soon as I left the church I headed back to the plantation, to find Sophie and Elena in the pool, though Elena was in Kol's arms as he held her in the water, making sure that she didn't sink; with how pale and weak she looked she definitely would have if she was left to carry her own weight. Elijah and Finn were pacing at the end of the pool closest to the occupants of the pool, while Hayley and Bekah were sat to the left side of the pool, both observing Elena with concerned expressions.

'What's happening?' I asked, briefly wondering where Nik was, but in that moment my sister was my main priority.

'The pool is lowering our core temp and helping the herbs last longer.' Sophie answered before she drank from a small circular wooden bowl she was holding.

I focused on Elena and took her pain without thinking, which wasn't my brightest idea; it was ten times worse than it had been before and the sudden agony caused me to bend over as I clutched at my chest; my heart feeling like it was turning to stone. I felt Finn and Elijah standing just behind me, both of them placing a comforting hand on my back, once I'd gathered myself I stood back up straight and sent them a reassuring wave as well as a soft smile.

'Davina is working on the unlinking spell, she will do it, it's just a matter of time,' I said, standing in between Finn and Elijah who had now stopped pacing as we looked down to the three people in the water.

'She doesn't have long darling,' Kol said, his eyes meeting mine shining with desperation and helplessness.

'Elena's going to be fine, Kol.' I assured him, sending comforting waves towards him while I simultaneously focused on Elena, taking any new pain before it had a chance to register with her.

'How do you know?' Sophie asked, confused at my certainty.

I was saved from answering her when Elena suddenly shot up out of Kol's arms, gasping for air, the colour returning to her cheeks as she breathed.

'The link's lifted.' Sophie said, taking a safety pin away from where it was attached from her skirt and stabbing the end of her left index finger. Kol saw what she was doing and gently lifted Elena's left hand and inspected it, his eyes closing with relief when he saw that she wasn't bleeding. I could feel everyone's complete relief as well as my own as Elena and Kol started to make their way out of the pool, though my own was short lived as my phone started to vibrate in my back pocket.

'Hey Nik. Where are you?' I asked once I had answered the phone after looking at the caller I.D.

'I'm at a meeting with the Sabine and the rest of the elders.' Nik said, his voice dangerous.

'Really, how convenient I was _just_ about to request a presence with them as well,' I smirked; my anger towards Sabine and the rest of the elders returning now that I knew Elena was safe.

'I had a feeling you might, so I've saved you the trouble.' I could hear his own smirk as he spoke.

'Wonderful; where are you?' I asked.

'The church.' He answered, pausing for a brief moment before he continued, 'hurry up love or they all might be dead when you get here.'

I rolled my eyes and shook my head fondly; I knew he was only saying that to scare the others who were undoubtedly listening to his conversation.

'You two have the strangest relationship I have ever witnessed,' Bekah said, shaking her head in disbelief as she stood up from the side of the pool, offering her hand to Hayley once she was on her feet.

'Maybe. I don't know any different,' I shrugged to Bekah, giving Elena a hug as she and Kol walked past me; she was going to get an early night, almost dying had taken it out of her, and honestly I wasn't surprised.

'Anyway, I'm off to find Nik.' I smiled, moving to leave the rest of the group, but Sophie's panicked voice stopped me.

'Please, don't let him kill them, Kimberly,' she pleaded, I turned to her, my brows raising in question which was apparently enough encouragement for her to continue, 'the harvest ritual has to be completed by an elder, Sabine is the only remaining one, if she dies then we have no way to complete the ritual to strengthen the link to the ancestors.'

I looked to her as I regarded her; I could feel her genuine panic over the idea of Nik killing the only living elder, and I knew that technically it made sense, but I was too angry in that moment and that emotion overrode anything else.

'I won't let Nik kill Sabine.' I told her, not lying. I could feel her relief and a part of me felt a little guilty over what I was about to do, but not guilty enough to change my mind.

Bekah insisted on accompanying me to the church; I knew that she could see the fury that was simmering beneath my faux calm exterior and I think she just wanted to be there for me encase my anger overtook my better judgement.

I slammed open the church doors, hearing them hit the stone walls with a bang loud enough to make the other occupants in the room, aside from Nik, jump in fear.

'Well, it's about time you got here, love,' Nik smirked; he currently had Sabine's back against his chest and his hand clutching at her throat.

'I got held up making a promise to Sophie,' I said, walking with purpose down the isle, coming to a stop about three feet away from Sabine, Bekah a foot behind me.

'What promise?' Nik asked.

'That I wouldn't let you kill Sabine,' I told him honestly; he looked annoyed and shocked for a moment, but his expression quickly became one of amusement as he released his hold on Sabine, holding his hands up in the air in a gesture of surrender as he stepped back.

'As you wish, love,' he smiled, already knowing what I was going to do.

'I have a question, Sabine if you wouldn't mind answering it.' I started, not giving her time to respond before I continued, 'why did you go after Elena?'

'Because I had a vision, that your leadership would be even worse than Marcel's. I believed that if I took advantage of Sophie's link to Elena, we could show you how easy it would be for us to kill her, and thus making you more agreeable when we offered you a bargain,' Sabine said, her voice calm; she didn't have an ounce of fear inside of her. I didn't know if she was brave or stupid.

'What bargain?' Bekah asked, coming to stand directly beside me, her arms crossed over her chest.

'You leave New Orleans, and we release the link between Elena and Sophie. You stay, we kill her.' Sabine answered, not even blinking.

'Well you see, there's just one _small_ problem with that plan,' I started, flashing forward and plunging my hand into her chest as I gripped her heart, 'we broke the link.' I said, my brows lifting in irony before I ripped her heart out and threw it onto the lap of one of the witches sat on the front pew.

The two male witches lifted their hands in my direction and started chanting, before I had any opportunity to register any pain, Nik flashed forward and snapped both of their necks.

'Now that's no way to treat a lady,' Nik said, his tone mocking as he shook his head at the now dead witches in faux disapproval; I chuckled at him and shook my head fondly as we both shared an amused look.

'You were definitely made for each other alright,' Bekah commented, shaking her own head in amusement.

Nik and Bekah volunteered to dispose of the bodies while I decided to pay a visit to Davina, to thank her for what she had done for us that day; if it wasn't for her my sister would be dead. I knocked softly on her door, smiling as she opened it.

'Kim! What are you doing here?' She asked, sounding surprised.

'I just wanted to thank you for today. If it wasn't for you it could have gone a completely different way,' I smiled, squeezing her hand gratefully.

'So it worked?' She asked, happy.

'It did,' I confirmed, offering her a bright, almost proud smile, 'you did good, Davina.'

Davina simply smiled and offered me a parting hug before I left; I had just closed the church door, a smile still on my face when I heard a bang, similar to someone knocking on a door. I turned to see where it was coming from, but came face to face with nothing, I shrugged trying to stay calm, but I suddenly felt anything but. I was about to flash back to the plantation when someone quickly but firmly grabbed my head, snapping my neck to the side and inevitably, temporarily killing me.

 **There's chapter thirty for you! Sorry this took so long; it took a while for me to decide how I wanted the story to go! Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to ThisIsMelly, flazzy Cullen, Klarobass, NikitaNightfall and KuroTenshi-Kitsune-lover for either choosing to follow or favourite my story, it means a lot!**

 _ **Guest: This story is so good! But I do have one question: will Kim be pregnant later on in the story like Hayley was in the Originals? Please update soon!**_ **Thank you so much! I am planning on making Kim pregnant, don't you worry, I just don't know when quite yet, but it will definitely happen :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: Can' wait for more, nice work! :) What will Davina choose? What will await our dream pair and family :) Have a nice day, Vampes :P XX**_ **Thank you as always, lovely :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well ;)**

 _ **BeccaSco: Yes! This chapter was awesome!**_ **Thank you, I hope you liked this one too :)**


	31. My Love Is Missing

Chapter Thirty One

Klaus' P.O.V.

I could feel the pain of her neck snapping as soon as it happened, a gasp escaping me from the surprise of it; Bekah and myself were in the woods disposing of the elder's bodies with fire at the time so my surprise was certainly audible.

'What's wrong with you?' Bekah asked.

'Something's happened,' I told her, throwing the lighter onto the three bodies that were already doused with lighter fluid before I flashed away, heading back to the church. I caught her scent immediately and it told me that she had been standing outside; I could sense her unease as if she was standing right in front of me. I followed her scent to the edge of the street where it suddenly cut off; she must have been loaded into a vehicle. I growled under my breath, frustrated and annoyed; I could tell from the scent that it was vampires who had taken her and when I got my hands on them they were going to suffer a pain greater than they could possibly fathom.

'Nik, what's going on?' Bekah said, reaching out to touch my arm but I shrugged her off, not wanting to accidentally lash out to her with how pissed off I was in that moment.

'Vampires have taken her.' I muttered, running my hands down my face as I tried to pin point the scent; it was familiar but the identities were just out of grasp, I knew for sure that there were two of them.

'Marcel wouldn't be that stupid,' Bekah stated, sounding furious herself.

'It's not Marcel's scent, none of his men either, but I do know it I just don't know how.' I sighed; my anger was getting the best of me, disabling be from being able to think clearly and rationally, and I knew the longer that I was away from her the worse it was going to get.

'Okay, Nik calm down,' Bekah said, softening her voice, placing her hands on my shoulders to force me to look her in the eyes, 'you need to focus. Kim is counting on you right now.'

'I know that, Bekah,' I huffed, annoyed, 'when I get my hands on whoever did this I-.'

'That's just it, you're thinking about what you're going to do to them when you find them and it's fuelling your anger and clouding your judgement.' She said, cutting off my angry ramblings, 'you need to think about her, how she makes you feel, the calm that only her presence brings you. Close your eyes,' She gave me a stern look until I complied, 'and now imagine that you're with her somewhere where it's just the two of you.'

My mind unconsciously went to the memories from the road trip we had taken over the summer. _Technically_ she had been forced to come but it had been… truly wonderful, though I would never admit it at the time; I had said I wanted her on the trip for her interesting abilities that no one understood at the time, but in truth she had captured my interest in a way that no woman ever had before, and I found myself _craving_ to be around her. So when I saw the opportunity I took it; I got to be around her all day everyday for months, and she had _wanted_ to be around me as well, something I definitely hadn't been prepared for. She hadn't judged me, she didn't treat me any differently when I ordered Stefan to kill people once we had burned out our leads with them, she may have disapproved but she just got on with it and just accepted me for who I was; until that point no one had ever done that, at least not completely. Adding her presence to the trip in exchange for the cure had been the best decision I had ever made, who knows where we would be now if Damon hadn't gotten bitten-. My eyes snapped open in realisation.

'Damon and Stefan Salvatore,' I whispered, realising that I was suddenly completely calm.

'The Salvatore brothers?' Rebekah scoffed before she continued, 'It's sad that they have nothing better to do than come to New Orleans to carry out their revenge fantasies.'

'They're going to regret this.' I muttered, promise in my voice as I walked towards the church going straight to the attic door and knocking three times. It took a few minutes; I assume she had been asleep, but she finally answered.

'Klaus,' she muttered, not sounding at all pleased to see me, but I honestly didn't care.

'Kim's been taken,' I told her bluntly, knowing that her and Kim had some kind of friendship, which was confirmed when her face immediately creased with concern.

'You can both come in,' she said, holding the door open and stepping aside.

'Can you do a locator spell? I've tried following her scent but it cuts off at the end of the street so I'm assuming they put her into a car.' I informed her, following her over to a large wooden table that she lit with candles just by waving her hand before she opened up a map.

'I'll need something close to her,' Davina stated, looking between me and Bekah as if we knew what that meant, 'someone who shares the same blood, someone who has a strong physical connection to her-.'

'Use Nik,' Bekah cut her off, 'they're mates they have a strong physical and supernatural connection, but we'd appreciate it if you kept that titbit of information to yourself sweetheart.'

'I don't even know what that means, but sure,' Davina said, shaking her head with an incredulous look on her face before she held out her hand towards me, 'give me your hand and we can begin.'

I gave it to her, not flinching in the slightest when I felt her drag the blade across my palm. Once she had made the incision I moved my fist, holding it above the map and allowing a few drops to spill out. I couldn't feel Kimberly's pain from the wound so I assumed that she was still unconscious. Davina started chanting and the blood started moving, and it didn't stop.

'They're still on the move. I won't be able to give you an exact location until they stop,' Davina said, sounding concerned.

'Don't worry about it. I know exactly where they are going,' I muttered, throwing a good night over my shoulder as I made my way to the door.

'Let me know when she's safe. Please,' Davina shouted after me, and I paused with my hand on the door handle and turned to face her.

'I will. Thank you for the locator spell,' I told her before I swung the door open without another word, flashing back to the plantation ignoring the surprise on Bekah and Davina's expressions because I had actually used manners.

'Wake up! Everyone wake up!' I shouted walking down the hallways and throwing open everyone's bedroom doors.

'Niklaus, what is the meaning of this?' Elijah asked, already dressed in a suit, though he still looked a little asleep. I waited until everyone had joined Bekah and me in the hallway before I answered.

'The Salvatore's have taken Kimberly and they're heading to Mystic Falls right now.' I muttered, anger slowly returning to my voice.

No one responded for a second, the sleep fog in their brains slowing down their thinking processes, but they all seemed to catch up at the same time, simultaneously releasing sounds of rage.

'Those bastards are going to die a slow and painful death,' Kol muttered, his voice laced with venom.

'Oh, brother, I guarantee it,' I smiled; sure that the anger and maliciousness I was feeling was showing on my face in that moment, 'Well, lets not waste anymore time then,' I said, gesturing for everyone to make their way to the door.

'Perhaps it would be better for Elena and Kol to remain behind?' Finn suggested, noting that Elena still looked a little weak.

'Absolutely not, this is Kim we're taking about!' Kol protested, his arm around Elena's waist.

'He's right, we're going,' Elena insisted, her tone leaving no room for argument.

'Then we won't waste anymore time. Lets go get our girl back,' I smirked, the murderous rage growing within me to a point of no return.

Without another word we all packed up, and loaded into two cars; Bekah, Elijah, Hayley and Finn were in the one I was driving, with Elena and Kol following in the one behind us. I was driving as fast as I possibly could, not caring about the speed limits, all I knew was that I needed to get to her. I felt her regain consciousness for a moment and I felt her brief flash of fear and anger towards her kidnappers; they must have weakened her with vervain and wolfsbane because not long after that they snapped her neck again, which made me growl in anger. We were about an hour outside of the limits of Mystic falls when my phone rang over the sound system.

'Yes?' I answered, my tone clipped; I could feel her regaining consciousness again, she was hungry, weak and pissed off.

'They've stopped moving, they're in a town called Mystic Falls.' Davina said, seeming to be controlling her frustration at my tone.

'We figured as much, thank you though,' Bekah answered from the passenger seat when I didn't; I was too focused on Kimberly and when I felt my concern disappear to be replaced with calm, I knew that she was focused on me as well, which made me chuckle; only she would be worried about me when _she_ was the one that had been kidnapped.

'Is someone bleeding?' Hayley asked from the back seat suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts; when I focused I realised that I could smell blood as well.

'It's you, Nik,' Bekah said, her eyes on my arms and my chest, I followed her gaze and saw that blood was seeping through my white long sleeved shirt.

'They're bleeding her out,' I growled, the heel of my hand hitting the steering wheel in anger.

'They're making her weak,' Finn commented, his voice concerned before he continued, 'for what purpose? I don't understand why they have done this.'

'Me neither. She has the powers of an Original, which they would have discovered by now if they're having to resort to bleeding her out to keep her weak as well as dosing her with vervain and wolfsbane.' Elijah muttered, his hand entwined with Hayley's.

'What if this is something to do with Elena?' Bekah asked, looking to all of our disbelieving expressions before she continued, 'think about it, before Kol was in the picture she was in a love triangle with the Salvatore's and then one day she's suddenly with Kol; they could have taken Kim as some kind of revenge.'

'If that's the case then they know we're coming and they're waiting until we get there to kill her,' Finn said, his expression transforming into one of realisation.

'Then they don't know about her gaining the power of an Original when I turned her,' I nodded in agreement; it made sense, they wouldn't have taken her if they knew that they wouldn't be able to kill her.

I felt the wounds on my chest and arms heal before they immediately opened up again, but exactly like before, I didn't feel any pain.

'She's taking your pain isn't she?' Bekah asked when she noticed that I wasn't flinching or showing any signs of discomfort.

I nodded in answer and Bekah shook her head in astonishment and honestly I was feeling the same way; the fact that she put not just my well being, but everyone's above her own was incredible, but that was her, it was how she had always been and probably how she would always be.

'She's amazing,' Hayley murmured, so low that if the occupants of the car didn't have supernatural hearing, none of us would have heard her clearly.

'She is. And they are going to suffer greatly for this.' I said, my voice full of promise, though the anger was noticeably absent, as I was completely calm.

'So be it.' Finn agreed.

'No one hurts our family and lives, especially not Kimberly,' Elijah said, his voice murderous.

Elijah was right; hurting one of us was just plain stupid, but hurting the member of the family who was the kindest person any of us had ever met was just borderline psychotic. Kimberly had never once done anything other than look out for our family, even members who weren't in it; take Hayley for example, if she hadn't helped her then Elijah never would have met her. In other words, Kimberly was so selfless, kind and absolutely incredible, even now, when she had been kidnapped she was focused on making sure that I wasn't feeling the pain from the wounds they were inflicting on her, as well as making sure that I was nothing but calm. I wouldn't have been surprised if she was monitoring everyone else's feelings as well; she had mentioned to me before that she could sense the feelings of anyone that she knew well from any distance; it was how she had kept an eye on Elena and Jeremy when she had been with me and Stefan over the summer. 

'Have you tried reaching out to her, Niklaus?' Elijah asked, leaning slightly forward in his seat so that he could meet my eyes in the rear view mirror.

'No, I don't know if distance will hinder me,' I admitted.

'Well try, if she can tell us where they are keeping her it will save us some time. That is presuming they aren't stupid enough to keep her at the boarding house.' Bekah muttered, tilting her head as if she was considering if they were that foolish or not.

I contemplated it for a moment, deciding that they had a point; the worst that could happen would be that it didn't work. I gestured for Bekah to take the wheel, seeing as I would need to concentrate. I closed my eyes, leaning back against the headrest as I reached out to her through my thoughts, hoping that she would respond.

 _Love?_ I asked hesitantly, waiting patiently; just as I was about to give up, I heard her soft reply.

 _Nik, it's so good to hear from you._

 _You too, love. How are you?_

 _Fine. I feel weak; they've been bleeding me out and pumping me with wolfsbane and vervain, the bastards._

 _I figured as much, with the fact that they were able to keep you prisoner and the fact that my t-shirt is stained with blood._

 _Hmm blood, I could really go for some of that right now._

 _I'm not surprised, love. Elena packed some blood bags for you I think, you can have as many as you want soon._

 _I can't believe you're all coming._ She said, and I could hear her surprise even through her thoughts; she couldn't understand or believe that we all cared about her.

 _Of course we're all coming. I'm sure you've sensed how worried and angry everyone has been over this, love. The Salvatore's are dead._

 _I don't even know why they've done this, they won't tell me but I can sense their anger and heartache. My money is on them being bitter over Elena ditching them._

 _That's what Bekah suggested, either way they aren't going to live to see tomorrow._

 _I feel kind of bad for them. If they could just move on and get on with their lives then none of this would be happening._

 _Don't try and talk me out of this, love. They took you and they're going to pay for it._

 _But they already have; I can feel how much pain they're both in over losing the girl they love._

 _Where are you, love?_ I asked, deciding to change the subject before we got into an argument; there were more important things for us to discuss right now.

 _I'm pretty sure I'm in the old Lockwood cellar. Both of them are standing outside stressing over the fact that you're going to come for me, I'm guessing they didn't think that far ahead._

 _Such pathetic excuses for vampires, honestly. We're almost there, love. We'll be home before you know it._

 _That sounds wonderful. I'm tired, dirty, hungry and worst of all… I miss you._

 _I… I miss you too, love._ I admitted, and it was true; even though she was working to control my emotions she couldn't take away the pull in my heart that was demanding that I go to her and she couldn't quell the werewolf inside of me that was flaring up with protective instincts.

 _I'm going to have to go now, Nik. I need to save my strength; I'm starting to feel stronger but I don't want to jinx it._

 _Alright, love. We're about fifteen minutes away, it shouldn't take me long to find you._

 _I love you, Nik. I'll see you soon._

 _I love you too._

My eyes snapped open as I felt the connection snap; I sat up abruptly, my foot jolting on the acceleration but luckily there wasn't any other cars on the road, aside from Kol and Elena who were following behind us. I grabbed the wheel, sending a nod to Bekah in thanks as I forced my gaze to concentrate on where I was going; we were so _close_ I could feel it as if every fibre of my being was aligned with hers and I just _knew_ that I would be with her soon.

'Well? Did you reach her?' Bekah asked, sounding annoyed that I had come out of my trance and just remained silent.

'I did, they're keeping her in the Lockwood cellar. She said they're floundering over us coming for her; apparently their evil plans aren't very well thought out.' I muttered, my hand clenching on the steering wheel as I considered what they were doing to her and what I was going to do to them as a result. They were in for greater pain than they could possibly imagine.

'Idiots, the both of them,' Bekah shook her head, looking dumfounded over how they could both be so stupid.

'She tried to talk me out of killing them,' I said, my tone casual.

I didn't need Kimberly here to know that everyone in the car in that moment was riddled with disbelief.

'I'm not that surprised, you know. Whenever it's her on the receiving end of the pain and suffering she's much more forgiving.' Elijah commented.

'But if it was one of us that had been taken instead…' Bekah trailed off.

'She would be more ruthless than all of us put together,' I finished, chuckling because I knew we were right; Kimberly was completely merciless and unforgiving when it came to forgiving someone who caused anyone she cared for any form of pain, but she was a lot less strict with her own well being which was more than moderately frustrating.

'We'll see how it plays out. For now we just need to focus on getting to her.' Finn said, his tone laced with impatience and concern.

Kim's P.O.V

The Salvatore brothers, again, had kidnapped me except this time I wasn't being held as a bargaining chip for Klaus to get his hybrids out of town. No, this time I had absolutely no idea what the hell they were up to, or what they wanted. I could feel how angry they were, how heartbroken they were, and I even felt a little bit of guilt coming from whoever had to cut me open to keep bleeding me out. But had I received an actual explanation for all of this? Nope. Very inconsiderate if you asked me, it was the least they could do seeing as they had literally freaking kidnapped me. The only thing that was getting me through this without completely freaking out was focusing on Klaus and the rest of my family, making sure their concern didn't reach detrimental levels. Though I was more concerned about the anger that I had to keep taking from everyone except for Hayley and Elena; they were both angry to an extent, but they were mainly worried for my safety. It warmed my heart when I realised that they were all coming for me; Klaus confirmed it, but I could sense that they were near before that, it didn't minimise my surprise though. I cared for others easily, but I never expected anyone to care for me, I didn't know why and I didn't know if that would ever change.

'Hello? Listen if you two are keeping me hostage the least you can do is supply some form of entertainment!' I shouted, though they would have been able to hear me if I spoke at normal volume.

I had heard them muttering about how Klaus was surely coming for me and how they had basically no defence against an Original hybrid, which had made me snort; they had absolutely no chance against Klaus on his own, but I withheld the fact that _all_ of the Original's and more were coming. They would probably shit their pants, but then again maybe not; I had a feeling they were doing this to hurt Elena, so when they saw her I was sure that would jumpstart any courage they had lurking inside of them despite the presence of all six Original's. At this point, I didn't know if they were going to die; I was trying to conserve my strength so I hadn't put any energy into focusing on their fates, because my family and making sure that Nik wasn't feeling the pain of them cutting me open was my main priority.

'Hush up, princess,' Damon muttered as he entered the cellar, sarcasm forever present in his tone. He was holding the knife that they had both been bleeding me out with and I felt myself tense at the sight of it.

'Come to slice me open again?' I asked, my own tone sarcastic as well.

'Actually, seeing as you don't seem to be getting any weaker we're going to have to resort to other methods.' Damon said, his tone evasive as he tossed the blade carelessly behind him. I took a step back as he took a step forward, my wrists fighting against the chains that were wrapped around me, I was pretty sure I could break them if I tried, but I didn't want to risk making myself too weak.

'What does that mean?' I asked, keeping the unease from my voice.

'It means…' he pulled out some kind of torture device that he had been concealing behind his back, 'we're gonna have to use this.' In all fairness, I could see as well as feel his regret and I knew that he didn't want to do this, but I knew it wasn't going to stop him, 'some werewolves used this on me once when they were trying to get the location of the moonstone out of me. Fair warning it hurts like a bitch.'

He walked forward and placed the device around my head, screwing in the wooden screws so they entered my skull. When they broke the skin I knew that they had been seeped with vervain and wolfsbane; I closed my eyes and focused on taking Klaus' pain as well as my own but I was unable to hold back a scream of pain that escaped me at the half way point. Once he had finished he gave me an apologetic expression before he went outside again to stand with Stefan. My hands went to the wall as I tried to remain standing, once I had regained my balance I focused on Klaus again and I could feel that he was angry, but also that he was so _close_. I took his anger, which wasn't the smartest idea, because it was enough to make me lose the battle of standing up straight and I fell to my knees, moving to rest my forehead against the wall only to wince when it pushed the wood further into my skull. I felt myself falling backwards and I prepared myself for the pain but I never hit the ground, which was when I realised I was being held in someone's arms; I knew who it was before my eyes even opened.

'Nik' I whispered, my tone completely relieved.

'I got you love, I got you,' he murmured, stroking my hair gently as he avoided the spikes imbedded within my head.

'It's okay,' I gave him a soft smile to let him know that it was fine, I knew he needed to pull the spikes out.

'You're going to have to send the pain to me, love.' He told me, his voice soft as his hand caressed the side of my face, causing me to open my eyes.

'What? No!' I protested, my hand settling over the hand he had to my face as my thumb moved back and forth comfortingly, 'It's fine, Nik. Just pull it off, please.'

I saw the struggle in his eyes; he knew he needed to take it off but he didn't want to be the one causing me pain. A few moments later that felt like a lifetime, he started to pull out the screws; there were eight in total and I noticed the holes around his head started to heal as he removed them. I closed my eyes during the process, both not wanting him to see the pain in my eyes as well as me focusing on taking his pain as well. He just had two more screws left when Bekah and Finn came in.

'What the bloody hell did they do to you?' Bekah said, her voice furious.

'Apparently bleeding me out wasn't making me weak enough,' I said, my tone sarcastic.

'Absolute adolescent idiots,' Finn muttered, shaking his head in disgust.

'I'm fine,' I insisted, taking the hand that Nik offered me once he had removed the last screw, tossing the device to the wall hard enough to make it shatter. I sighed in relief; the pulling in my heart had at least stopped and I was completely content, my head resting in the crook of Nik's neck as he wound his arms around my waist and we inhaled each other's scent.

'As adorable as this is, we should probably get going.' Bekah muttered, gesturing for us to get moving.

'Hmm,' I answered, now that I was comfortable, my fatigue was catching up with me.

'Elena!' Kol shouted, his voice sounding panicked, making my blood run cold and my head snap up.

'I need to-' I didn't finish because Klaus had already lifted me in his arms and flashed me outside to everyone else, knowing what I wanted without me having to tell him.

I looked over to where Damon was holding Elena's heart in his hand; I could feel how murderous he was in that moment and I knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

'Damon, I swear to god if you don't let her go-' Stefan cut himself off when he saw that Nik and I were now stood almost right behind Damon; I could feel that Stefan was now regretful, apparently seeing his former love seconds away from death was enough to make him have second thoughts.

'Any of you move then I rip her heart right out.' Damon said, his voice seething.

'No you won't, ' I muttered, stumbling towards him and out of Nik's arms, 'you won't because the only reason you're doing any of this is because you're still in love with her.'

'Really?' Damon scoffed, but if I could read the insincerity on his face then I knew everyone else could as well.

'Yes, now let her go, Damon,' I said, placing my hand on his shoulder; I had taken Elena's pain the minute I saw her pinned against the tree and I knew that though his hand was in her chest, he wasn't grasping her heart, 'too long,' I muttered, using the hand on his shoulder to throw him backwards, into a tree, a loose branch plunging into his stomach.

'Are you alright?' I asked Elena, hugging her to my chest; we were both bloody and I was sure we made quite the pair.

'I'm fine. What about you? What did they do to you?' Elena asked, pulling back and noting all of the dried blood over various parts of my body and my pale complexion, I opened my mouth to answer and that was when I noticed that everyone was staring at me waiting for my response.

'I'm fine,' I insisted, trying to hide how weak I was actually feeling as I sent them all a reassuring wave.

I felt Nik come up behind me, placing his hands on my hips as he discretely supported my weight.

'She's not fine, she needs to feed so let's make this quick,' Nik said, his tone casual in a way that would make his enemies terrified. He gently handed me over to Finn who picked me up and held me bridal style when he realised how much trouble I was actually having standing up.

'Now, gentlemen, you kidnapped and tortured a member of our family and then you tried to rip out my girlfriends heart. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?' Kol asked, sounding absolutely livid.

'I can't speak for Damon,' Stefan started, pausing to glare at his brother who was still hanging from a tree with a branch in his stomach, 'but I was just mad at Elena for just leaving town with someone else after she had been choosing between me and my brother for so long. We took it too far and I'm truly sorry,' Stefan said, looking over to me as he apologised.

'Listen, it's not Elena's fault that you handed me over to Ester on a silver platter and it's not anyone's fault that they fell for each other. Everyone just needs to calm down.' I said, feeling on the brink of delirium.

'She's right. I fell out of love with you two a long time ago, I realised that when I fell for Kol so fast. I never gave either of you an explanation and you deserved one. I'm sorry.' Elena said, walking forward and lacing her arm around Kol's waist as she spoke, with him reciprocating the gesture.

Stefan offered her a soft smile in thanks for her apology but otherwise didn't respond; the only sound in the woods at that moment was Damon groaning in pain as he managed to free himself from the branch and collapsed to the floor.

'Well, while the apologies are much appreciated you understand that you are both going to have to pay for what you have done, yes?' Nik said, speaking to them both for the first time; he had a dangerous smile on his face with his hands clasped behind his back.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics but otherwise didn't respond, I was pretty sure he wasn't going to kill them and I got the impression that he needed to feel as though it was his decision; I knew how much he liked punishing people on his terms, so I remained quiet, my head resting on Finn's chest as I watched what was going on in front of me.

'Niklaus, perhaps we can move this along?' Elijah said from across from me, Finn and Bekah; he had Hayley standing just behind him in a protective gesture.

'My pleasure, brother.' Klaus grinned; he shared a look with Kol and they both stepped forward, taking a brother each.

Nik clasped Damon's shoulders roughly enough to break a few bones; he brought his hybrid face forward and bit into Damon's neck. I could feel Damon and Stefan's horror as they assumed that their punishment was going to be a werewolf bite each. When Nik was satisfied he pulled back, biting into his wrist and offering Damon his blood; Damon was suspicious but he took it anyway, not really in the position to argue, while he was drinking, Nik gestured for Kol to check Stefan and he did.

'Now it appears both of you have become sloppy while we've been away. You should have kept drinking your vervain,' Nik grinned, Damon's blood still dripping down his chin.

'Now do listen up, both of you. You're going to forget that you ever knew Elena and Kimberly Gilbert and you're going to forget all of the Original's that you have met. You will carry on with your immortal lives, as you would have if you had never come back to Mystic falls to get to know the latest doppelgänger. Do you understand?' Klaus compelled them both, smiling in satisfaction when they both said they understood.

Before I knew what was happening, I was back in Klaus' arms and he had flashed us to two black Range Rovers that I recognised from the plantation garage. He opened one of them and set me down on the back middle seat, returning a moment later and sliding in next to me holding two blood bags, he handed me one and closed the door behind him. Elijah got into the drivers seat; Hayley in the passenger while Bekah filled the other empty seat to my right. I was soon finished with the first blood bag and Nik handed me the second without a word. I sighed in relief once I had finished that one as well and I could feel my strength returning.

'Better?' Bekah asked, squeezing my hand in comfort, at least that's what it looked like, but I could tell she was still worried and she wanted to make sure I was really here.

'Much better,' I nodded, lacing my arm around her shoulders, giving her a side hug and amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her. I gave her a bright smile when I pulled away, happy when she reciprocated the gesture.

'So… did I miss anything?' I said, my tone casual as I rested my head on Nik's shoulder, melting into his side when his hand wound around my waist.

'Not really, we've all been focused on getting to you,' Hayley said, turning to give me a relieved smile and I found myself once again questioning what I had done to earn such a wonderful family who cared about me so much.

'Thank you for coming for me.' I said, genuinely meaning it.

'You didn't think we would come for you?' Elijah asked sounding astounded, he met my eyes in the rear view mirror, allowing me to see the sincerity present within them before he continued, 'let me assure you; you're just as much a member of the family as I am.'

I offered him a soft smile in response but otherwise remained quiet because I didn't know what to say to that; words couldn't describe how grateful and touched I was by what he had said. He seemed to understand; he returned my soft smile before his eyes moved back to the road.

'I'm bored,' Bekah muttered, resting her head on my right shoulder.

'You know what we should do?' I murmured, my eyes closed as my face turned into Klaus' neck where I placed a kiss before I rested my head onto his shoulder again.

'What's that love?' Nik asked, his tone amused.

'I think a game of would you rather is in order.' I said sitting up and looking over to Nik, grinning as he groaned.

'Would you what?' Bekah asked, not sitting up from my shoulder.

'Someone gives you two scenarios and you have to say which one you would prefer to do.' I explained.

'And this is a form of entertainment?' Elijah sounded unconvinced.

'It is when you're not the one being asked,' Nik said, his tone sarcastic as he rolled his eyes.

'Okay who wants to go first?' I asked, grinning over to Nik when he remained silent.

'I will,' Hayley piped up from the front seat, turning around to face me.

'Would you rather…' I trailed off as I pursed my lips in thought, Nik chuckling as he observed my calculating expression, 'would you rather be covered in head to toe with honey for a whole week and not be able to wash it off or have sex with someone who has bad breath?'

I laughed when Bekah and Elijah both looked horrified, though Hayley didn't look very fazed over the question; Nik and I shared an amused look as we waited for Hayley's answer.

'Bad breath; I couldn't handle not showering for a weak.' Hayley answered; I could feel that she wasn't daunted in the least and that made me more amused.

'Fair enough,' I laughed, composing myself before I continued; 'now you have to ask me.'

'Would you rather…' she trailed off, glancing between me and Klaus, grinning devilishly before she continued, 'give up sex but still get to be around each other all the time for a year or be able to have two hours a day where you can have as much sex as you want but for the other twenty two hours a day you have to be apart?' Hayley asked, amused when I wasn't fazed either, but we laughed when the other occupants of the car seemed to be uncomfortable.

'When you say no sex do you mean no penetrative sex or no kind of sex at all?' I asked, laughing when I noticed Elijah's cheeks redden in embarrassment.

'No penetrative sex.' Hayley responded after she pondered it for a moment.

'Okay no sex for a year.' I replied, happy with my decision.

'Oh really? You two wouldn't make it five minutes alone in a room together,' Bekah snorted.

Klaus and I shared an amused look and shrugged; she was probably right. That was how the rest of the car journey went; we continued playing the game and at one point I even called Elena, Kol and Finn in the other car and got them playing as well. Kol, Hayley and I formed a team, all of us banding together to see who could embarrass everyone else. Kol managed to make Finn splutter with a particularly excruciating question, which even made Elijah chuckle in amusement. Though I think Hayley and I won as we tag teamed Elijah; he nearly swerved us off the road at the question we asked him, which made me; Bekah and Hayley laugh so hard we had tears streaming down our cheeks. Nik was much more subdued but still quite amused, his blue eyes glittering with mirth as he observed the whole scene.

We got back to New Orleans just after midnight, and I was just about dead on my feet; we all were. None of us had slept in the past twenty-four hours and it was catching up with us all, supernatural beings or not. I was flitting in and out of consciousness in the last thirty minutes of the drive and at some point Nik shifted me so that my feet were on one side of his legs and my ass on the other. My head nuzzled into his chest, one of his arms wound around my waist while the other gently stoked my hair, and that was when I lost the battle and fell into unconsciousness.

 **That's chapter thirty-one for you lovely people! I hope you enjoyed it, and let me know what you think! I hope it was exciting for you and that you're satisfied with me leaving the Salvatore's alive- I just didn't have the heart to kill them and I felt like Elena being with Kol was a bit sudden and I wanted to tie up the loose endings with Damon and Stefan.**

 **A huge thank you to LiliAnn, Mcveighreece and WhatExistsInFalling for choosing to either follow or favourite my story! It means a lot :)**

 _ **BeccaSco: Yup! Loved this chap as well.**_ **Thank you- let me know what you thought of this one, lovely; I hope you enjoyed it :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: …omg XD what?! Cliff hanger * pouting * Family wins again :) Always and forever ;) Love it! Good job, can't wait to see what happens next :) Maybe a little hint? Pls, pretty pls :) Mikael? Ester? More witches? Marcel? Werewolves? Have a nice day, Vampes! * waving ***_ **As always, thank you lovely :) I'm glad you liked it and I hope you liked this one, even though the ones who took her were none of your guesses, I hope you weren't disappointed- let me know what you thought :)**


	32. Long Live The Mikaelson's

Chapter Thirty Two

Since we returned from Mystic Falls after the Salvatore brothers briefly kidnapped me, the weeks had flown by as life continued pretty normally. Well, as normally as it can living in New Orleans whilst trying to sneakily steal the kingdom from the current king; we were _really_ close, but I had a feeling there were going to be further interruptions before the Mikaelson family was once again living in the compound where they belonged; I had a feeling that it was going to happen before Christmas, which was in a week and was why I hadn't put up any decorations yet. Besides that, though, I was otherwise prepared for the holiday; I had secured everyone's presents, though I hadn't mentioned a thing about it because I didn't want anyone to feel as if they were obligated to give me anything.

Hayley had pretty much officially moved in, though Davina had managed to reverse the curse placed on the Crescent Moon pack, they were in the Bayou, laying low so that Marcel and his vampires didn't get word of it; if he found out he's find it suspicious that Davina hadn't told him about anything magical happening in the quarter. The pack seemed to respect Hayley's decision to remain at the plantation with us, whom I was grateful for, as well as Elena; they had gotten pretty close. Though, I had a feeling a certain Mikaelson was certainly the _most_ grateful over her decision; Hayley and Elijah had gotten _very_ close, to the point that they were basically attached at the hip. I could sense how content they both were in their relationship, though the furthest they went in terms of public displays of affection was holding hands, Hayley's head rested on his shoulder, but their obvious adoration for each other couldn't be missed from the gazes they shared. I also knew for a fact that the rest of his siblings were happy to see him in love; Nik had told me that he hadn't seen Elijah this infatuated with anyone since he had been human, and I was glad for him; he deserved to be happy.

We had all been surprised when Finn mentioned that he was meeting a girl in a highway restaurant just outside of New Orleans for a date about a week after we returned from Mystic Falls. Jaws had dropped in complete shock and I had felt everyone's utter disbelief; Finn hadn't mentioned interest in a women in the short time I had known him, but I suppose that was to be expected; he was a quiet, reserved and polite guy. After he had told us his plans he had left without another word, grabbing the keys to one of the black Range Rovers on his way. It had taken a good ten minutes before anyone spoke, Kol being the first, spluttering incoherent sounds of scepticism, the rest of us following suit. We had all anxiously waited for him to return, Nik and I making up an excuse as to why we couldn't go to the party he was throwing at the compound; I hadn't wanted to go anyway, and this was much more fun. We had just finished our fourth game of twister, which was a lot more clumsy after I had suggested adding alcohol; you had to take a shot of Jack Daniels honey whiskey every time you landed on red or yellow. Nik was taking a shot from his disjointed position on the floor below me, before he would have to place his left foot on red when we had all frozen as we heard the front door softly close; we all flashed in that direction in an instant, the game forgotten. He looked a little taken aback by our interest, though he was more shocked at how drunk Elijah had gotten; Elena and Hayley had been the referees this time, Elena spinning and Hayley observing, so Elijah had played and somehow, every turn he had he ended up on yellow or red; I was pretty sure Elena and Hayley had been behind it, wanting to see what he was like drunk. Honestly, it was pretty hilarious; he had taken off his shoes and socks when we began playing, as we all had, but during the game he had lost his suit jacket and tie as well as changing into some grey sweatpants after Kol had complained at how his trousers looked close to ripping when he bent over to put his hands on his instructed colour. I think just the sight of that was shocking enough, but Elijah also had a relaxed, consistent grin on his face as well as slurring his words. Once we managed to stop observing Elijah, we succeeded in getting some details out of Finn; her name was Elizabeth, she was human and according to him she was beautiful, smart and rather amusing. He had been seeing her since, and I sensed that things were starting to get serious; he was currently concerned with telling her that himself and his family were vampires, but I assured him that it would be fine; I had a good feeling about her and I was certain that Finn had just found his forever.

As soon as Bekah had found out about Finn's sudden love life she had started to mope around more and more and I knew that she was upset that she was the only one in the house who hadn't found someone. But honestly, I was pretty sure that her someone was… unavailable at the moment; I had a feeling that her forever was Marcel Gerard, when I'd sensed the attraction and affection that they still both held for one another, as well as Bekah's jealousy whenever she saw him hanging out with Cami. Unfortunately, neither of them were in the position to do anything about their feelings; Marcel was apprehensive of Bekah because he knew that Nik was up to something, though he didn't have any concrete proof yet, and Bekah was wary of Marcel because of their past history as well as the fact that she was worried that returning to him would be seen as an act of betrayal, which in all fairness was a reasonable assumption. After she had been moping for a week, I took her to the side, sending comforting waves towards her as I assured her that she would find her forever, it would just take a little longer. She had brightened up after that, which we were all grateful for; seeing Bekah depressed was like kicking a fairy tale princess when she was down.

Kol and Elena had remained the same, just like Nik and I had. Though a few days after we had returned from Mystic Falls Nik had started looking at me oddly, we'd be laughing and joking one minute, then as his amusement faded away, his expression a mixture of worried and soft. Every time I asked him what was wrong he just answered that it was nothing, no matter how much I insisted that he could tell me. I had assumed that it was because I had been kidnapped a few days prior, but when he refused to tell me what was bothering him, I knew it had to be something else. When it carried on afterwards, becoming more and more frequent the closer we got to Christmas, I started to wonder more and more what it could be. I honestly had no idea, but I had a feeling everyone else knew; every so often I'd catch them looking at me knowingly and right now was one of those moments. Nik and I had just been in the shower, him leaving ten minutes before me because I had to wash my hair. I heard everyone murmuring under their breaths, low enough that I couldn't hear them, even with my supernatural hearing. They all stopped as soon as I entered the room, breaking apart from their huddle over the table in the kitchen; Nik looked nervous while everyone else seemed excited, what the hell was going on?

'Morning, darling,' Kol grinned at me, his smile seeming wider as he had a devilish glint in his eye.

'What's going on?' I asked, my voice uneasy; I realised that their expressions reminded me of when they had surprised me for my birthday, except this time was ten times worse.

'Nothing, love.' Nik assured me, coming to stand behind me, after he'd sent the other people in the room a dark look, he rested his hands on my hips and his head on my shoulder, his thumbs rubbing back and forth comfortingly.

'Yes, nothing darling.' Kol teased.

'Absolutely nothing,' Bekah agreed, mirroring Kol's tone.

'Enough, both of you.' Nik said, his voice stern; I could feel his anger though it wasn't as drastic as it would have been if he weren't holding me.

Amazingly, Kol and Bekah backed off, which I was relieved about; those two were a relentless tag team once they got going. Plus I was starting to get annoyed with the constant teasing; I wanted to know what the hell was going on, they obviously knew, I didn't and it was making me crazy. But I also knew that Nik would only tell me when he was ready; I just had to be patient, as hard as it was not to snap in annoyance.

'So what's the plan today?' Bekah asked from her seat at the dining table; she was halfway though eating a bowl of cereal.

I leaned back into Nik's chest, my head tilting so that my face rested in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. As easy as it would have been to completely lose track of the conversation, I forced myself to follow it; Hayley, Elena, Kol and Elijah are going to Denver. Elena wanted to see Jeremy before Christmas, and there was no question that Kol was going to go with her. We had explained everything that had happened with the Original family over the months he had been in Denver over numerous phone calls, and despite his initial objection, I could feel that he was starting to come around. Hayley and Elijah were tagging along to get a break from all the New Orleans drama, which they deserved; him and Hayley hadn't had much quality time that didn't get interrupted with a vampire crisis. I had wanted to go to Denver and see my baby brother desperately, but despite him being willing to tolerate Kol and Elijah, he still had trouble with Nik because of the whole sacrificing business, and me and Nik being declared mates was taking him a little longer to process. So to avoid any awkwardness or possible confrontations that may result in ruining the whole Christmas gift exchange, I'd opted to stay in New Orleans, though it killed me; I had already missed two Christmas' with Jeremy, and missing another was going to be difficult. Nik placed a kiss to my hair and pulled me to him a little tighter, sensing my melancholy over the mention of Denver, which helped a little. The conversation thankfully veered onto a different topic as Finn told us he was meeting Elizabeth in the town over, and was planning to spend the weekend with her, seeing as they both wanted to spend actual Christmas with their families, and they weren't at the point to be bringing one another home to meet the folks yet. Bekah, Nik and I were planning on staying in New Orleans; I had a feeling that something was going to go down with Marcel, though I hadn't mentioned that to anyone other than Bekah and Nik because I knew we could handle it and I didn't want to ruin everyone's plans.

'Have a great time all of you,' I said, forcing my tone to sound bright and cheerful despite the fact that I felt anything but; I was going to miss them all.

'We'll be back before you know it, Kimmie,' Elena assured me, seeing right through me, stepping forward for a hug.

'You better be,' I muttered, making Kol chuckle.

'Aww bestie, I think it's adorable that you're going to miss me so much,' Kol teased, but I could feel that he himself was going to miss those who were staying behind.

'You're the one I'm going to miss the least, bestie.' I said, my tone emotionless and my face blank; when his mouth dropped open in shock I couldn't help but drop my mask, a laugh breaking free as I pulled him into a hug, 'I am going to miss you bestie.' I mumbled, only loud enough for him to hear. I saw his soft expression when I pulled away before I moved on to hug Hayley and Elijah together; both of them reciprocated the hug. Once I had hugged Finn, Bekah and Nik said their goodbyes, before they left.

'Well this is bloody depressing,' Bekah muttered, discretely wiping a tear from her cheek.

'It really is,' I agreed, leaning back into Nik's chest, his arms settling around my waist and pulling me tighter; I could feel his displeasure over his family leaving but I also knew that he wouldn't voice it aloud.

'We should get going, love.' Nik murmured, kissing my temple.

'Where?' I asked, frowning in confusion.

'Marcel wanted to meet to talk about the werewolves. I think he's gotten word that the curse has been broken, and if that's the case we're going to need to do something about it.' Nik stated, his hands moving from my waist to rest on my hips.

'It's not that,' I assured him, frowning; I was pretty sure that whatever Marcel had planned was the bad feeling that had been building over the last week, so I told Nik and Bekah that.

'Well with it being the three of us, we should be fine.' Bekah said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than us.

'We're Original's, Bekah. It will be no contest.' Nik assured her, and I nodded in agreement.

Without another word, we all flashed over to the plantation; once we arrived we went straight to the courtyard, knowing that was where Marcel usually met us when he asked us to come over. It was eerily quiet, no Marcel to be found, but I could sense that there were a good few hundred vampires waiting nearby.

'Can you feel that?' I murmured, Nik, Bekah and I had split off into an almost triangle shape as we looked around for any sense of movement.

'Yes, I can.' Nik responded, his voice darkening.

Before another word could be spoken, Marcel jumped down from the balcony that span around the second floor, landing in front of me with a dangerous grin on his face. I stepped back, not liking the malicious look on his face. I felt Nik and Rebekah come to stand either side of me, but that just made his grin grow.

'Well, well, well if it isn't my three favourite Mikaelson's.' He said, his arms outstretched as he laughed manically.

'Well, I for one am flattered,' I muttered, sarcasm my best friend.

'You should be, you're considered as more of a Mikaelson than I ever was,' Marcel said, acid dripping from his tone.

I remained silent, not knowing what to say to that; his words stirred up a form of unease inside me. I was considered a Mikaelson, something that made me feel incredibly grateful and honoured. But I couldn't give Marcel a reason as to why I was considered as a part of the family more than he had ever been, when I didn't know the answer myself. Nik and Bekah each placed a hand on the small of my back, in a comforting and protective gesture.

'What is the meaning of this, Marcel?' Bekah demanded.

'I'm sick of you people walking into my town like you own the place, always getting your way, making your own rules. I've decided I'm going to put you down.' Marcel said, sounding and feeling incredibly confident; I felt Nik and Bekah's amusement grow as my own brows quirked, entertained.

'You think _you_ can put the three of us down singlehandedly?' Nik asked, sounding incredibly arrogant.

'Well your little girlfriend is only a hybrid that's a few months old, so we're more planning on killing her.' He said, a huge grin on his face.

'Well gee, thanks.' I said, crossing my arms over my chest and shaking my head in mock horror.

His grin grew a few millimetres, but otherwise he didn't respond, but his eyes did briefly storm over when Nik growled under his breath, while Bekah stepped forward threateningly at his threat.

'Never have a weakness. You taught me that; so call me surprised when you suddenly announce that you have a hybrid girlfriend that is completely killable.' He said as he started pacing back and forth, as if he were delivering a speech at a stand up night.

Nik and I shared a smirk, which seemed to make Marcel slightly uneasy, though he was doing a good job at hiding it from his expression. The fact that he had revealed that he believed I was a normal hybrid could definitely work in our favour.

'Well she's adorable, can you blame him?' Bekah muttered, throwing her arm around my shoulders and startling a laugh out of me, despite the tense situation.

'Is there a point to this?' Nik asked, avoiding the topic of me being his weakness altogether.

'I've been gathering my resources for months and I finally have enough to take you down. My ex girlfriend and my sire, it's been one hell of a ride, but all good things must come to an-.' Marcel was cut off as I interrupted him, irritated.

'Just get _on_ with it already. Unless your plan is to talk us to death?' I muttered, enticing an amused chuckle from Bekah and Nik while Marcel glared at me, he took a step forward and so did I, coming to a stop a foot from him, undeterred. He reached forward, probably about to rip my heart from my chest, but I caught his wrist easily, using it as leverage to throw him back a few steps, enjoying the shock that lit up his expression. Before anything more could be said a crowd of twenty vampires were suddenly surrounding us, all giving off waves of excitement. I stepped back to Nik and Bekah, all of us pressing our backs against each other's as we turned together, facing the circle head on.

'You think _this_ is enough to put us down?' Nik laughed, sounding moderately relieved, Bekah chuckled as well, but I didn't; I had a feeling he had something more up his sleeve. Sure enough, after he sent Nik a malicious grin he brought both of his index fingers to his mouth and whistled. Another hundred or so vampires entered the compound, some coming in behind the vampires that were already circling us, while some remained on the balcony that circled around the second floor.

'Well that's certainly more impressive, it's still not enough.' Bekah protested, her expression giving the impression that she was amused, but I could feel her anxiety; I took it replacing it with calm. Nik was calm because he sensed I was calm.

'We've got this.' I mumbled, low enough for only them to hear.

Before either of them could respond the first vampire lurched forward, going for me, I tore his heart from his chest with little effort, tossing it onto his dead body on the floor. Obviously, Marcel had instructed them to go for me first, because he believed I was the weakest link; he was in for a shock.

'You know what I love?' I asked, making my voice loud enough for the other vampires to hear, 'that Marcel would lead his men, the people he is supposed to look out for into slaughter.'

'I agree.' Bekah muttered.

'To borrow a trick from an old friend… anyone who picks this coin from the floor pledges their allegiance to me… to us and gets to live.' Nik said, his tone threatening; I heard the coin clatter to the floor and I didn't have to turn around to know that he was smirking.

No one moved, but I wasn't really that surprised; most of those that were here were Marcel's nightwalkers, those who were newly turned and desperate for bloodlust and murder, they weren't going to pass that up; they didn't understand what being up against an Original actually meant. Thierry was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the other handful of Marcel's day walkers; he must have known that before he was going to put us down, a lot of deaths were going to occur, so he was using the lives he deemed as disposable.

'Well it's your funeral,' Nik said after a minute passed and no one even moved an inch.

Before I could even blink, the vampire's moved forward; one of the women directly in front of me flashed forward, grabbing a fist full of my hair and yanking my head back, I stopped myself from crying out, reaching up and snapping the wrist that had hold of me until I heard her bone snap. Once she released me, I turned, ripping her head from her neck and throwing it to one of the other vampires who were heading towards me with enough force to send him propelling to the wooden picture hanging behind him, which conveniently stabbed him straight in the heart. I saw two men coming for me at the same time and I jumped, propelling myself sideways, spinning fast I latched my legs around the neck of one while my hands grabbed the neck of the other, my momentum helping me tear their heads off with minimal effort. I landed on the ground, crouched down, with one hand on the floor as I gathered my balance; I felt my eyes flash amber when I felt someone grab my shoulder and pull me backwards, I hit the concrete wall with a thump but I didn't feel it as I got up, heading for the one behind it, pulling out the heart of a vampire heading for Bekah and snapping the necks of two of the three vampires on Nik on my way. When I reached him, I smiled manically, while he gulped, nervous. I flashed forward, taking his pain away from him as I pulled out his heart, and throwing it in Marcel's direction. Before I could focus on the vampires coming towards me, my head snapped over to Bekah's direction, noting that the five vampires that had a hold on her were making short work of dragging her to the ground, I flashed over immediately, dodging the vampires who tried to attack me on the way, once I reached her I ripped out two of the vampire's hearts immediately, moving on to rip out another two straight after; Bekah took care of the fifth with no trouble, sending me a grateful smile before we both parted as vampires swarmed us both again. A man and a woman approached me, both grinning smugly; the woman had a long chain in her hands that she was spinning in a clockwise direction. I flashed forward, managing to yank out the man's heart before she attacked me with the chain, wrapping one around each of my wrists, she handed one to another vampire who joined her and they both began tugging. I played along, pretending to struggle, and when I felt their smugness grow, I stood easily yanking the chains so that they both crashed into each other, with enough force to make them fall to the floor, loosing their grip on the chains and they fell from my wrists with a clatter. I stepped forward ripping out their hearts and dropping them to their bodies, before my spine straightened as I sensed someone else behind me, they placed a hand roughly on my shoulder and I grabbed it, flipping them over on to their back in front of me, tearing his heart out mid-air. My gaze snapped over to Nik when I heard him growl in anger; he had ten vampires on him that were pulling him to the floor with some chains similar to those that they tried to use on me. I flashed over without another thought, taking out two of the three vampires that were on Bekah on my way, I had to work my way through the crowd that was around him, tearing out hearts and throwing my arm with enough force at necks to knock their heads off. I managed to take out eight of the ten that were on him before I felt something latch into my back; a wooden stake that was _dangerously_ close to my heart, I focused so that I took Nik's pain as well as my own before I moved forward, regardless of the weapon in my back and took care of the last two, yanking the chains away with a flick of my wrist. Nik looked up, his expression one of vengeance; his eyes flashing amber causing mine to respond in kind. He stood up, reaching behind me to pull the stake from my back after I gave him an assuring nod; I flinched from the pain, but was relieved when I felt it heal instantly. I felt Bekah's panic and turned to see that the remaining thirty or so vampires were heading for her, Nik and I shared an enraged look, before we both flashed forward, forcing our way to the middle of the circle, returning to our original position; turning clockwise with our backs pressed together.

'How many vampire's do we have to kill before Marcel calls this blood bath off?' I muttered aloud.

'I don't know, love, but at this rate he's not going to have any men left,' he smirked.

I muttered an agreement before the vampires circling us took a collective step forward. At that point my annoyance got the better of me and without thinking I held my arms in front of me, some of the vampires moved to grab me but stopped short when they started to feel the pain I was sending towards them, I focused so that Nik, Bekah and I were pain free while the shield started to grow from my hands, stopping where the vampires currently attacking us ended. They all fell to their knees as I sent the pain that I had taken from each vampire I had killed towards them, I kept going until I couldn't sense them feeling their pain anymore. When I opened my eyes I gasped, my eyes sheening over; they were all… _dead_. How was that possible? I hadn't done that since I had turned and when I did it before I had only been able to knock Stefan unconscious, not _kill_ him. Nik placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing me comfortingly, and bringing me back enough that the gold that was erupting from my hands ceased, the shield falling a few moments later.

'Holy-,' Bekah was cut off when we heard Marcel shift behind us, we all turned to face him; he was holding the coin that Nik had tossed to the floor mere moments before.

'There, okay? You win, I pledge my allegiance to you,' Marcel said; I could feel his guilt over sending his men into this as well as his intimidation and wariness over what he had just witnessed.

'Well… well how the tables have turned.' Nik smirked, his hands clasped behind his back; he had blood dripping from his chin so I assumed he had given a vampire or two a toxic werewolf bite.

'Are you kidding? You just sent about two hundred of your men into a fight you knew they'd probably lose while you just sat back and watched. You could have stopped it but you didn't. You can piss off with your allegiance you absolute _coward.'_ I muttered, crossing my arms across my chest, trying to clam myself down; I didn't like killing people, but I wasn't mad because of that; I'd do anything to protect those I cared about. I was mad because this could've all been avoided, these lives could have been saved, but Marcel was the kind of leader who would happily send his people into a fight knowing it would most likely end in certain death.

'What she said,' Bekah said, throwing her arm around my shoulder in comfort, I leaned my head on her shoulder, releasing a deep sigh.

'I couldn't agree more, love. You will leave the quarter, Marcellus and don't come back.' Nik said, his tone dark leaving no room for argument.

'Davina can come and visit you if she wants, but the choice is hers; you can't force her to go with you and we won't force her to stay here.' I assured him, my head still on Bekah's shoulder as I ignored the shock on his face.

Without another word, Marcel left the compound; I could feel his defeat and his melancholy as he made his way to the exit. Once he was gone, Nik's face broke out into a huge grin, pure happiness lighting up his face similar to that of a child's on Christmas morning. We all shared the same look, which I was sure looked completely out of place due to the fact that we were surrounded by about a hundred dead bodies, but we had worked hard for this and we had finally managed it; we had control of the kingdom. Nik somehow picked Bekah and me up at the same time, spinning us around in glee before he placed us back on the ground. He placed a short, but passionate kiss to my lips before he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine.

Long live the Mikaelson's.

 **There's chapter thirty two! I hope you enjoyed it; let me know what you thought!**

 **A huge thank you to Karakura Lion, svantassele and quortnee87 for choosing to either follow or favourite my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **BeccaSco: haha loved this one too! A game of would you rather would be sod and funny.**_ **Thank you! And haha, I agree- I'll try and work it into the Christmas chapter :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX:…now it seems soo obvious who kidnapped her XD Zero disappointment :) nice that the brothers came back into the picture/ Do you plan for them to come back at some point in the story or is this the 'happy-end' for them? :) As always great job!**_ **Thank you, lovely! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't plan on bringing the brothers back, but if something happens where I could work them into the story… never say never ;)**


	33. Christmas At The Compound

Chapter Thirty Three

The next few days flew by as we had everything moved over from the plantation to the compound; Nik had started putting the word out that the kingdom had changed hands but he had put off any official meetings until after Christmas, at my request. Surprisingly, Nik had been alright with that and in fact I had a feeling he was actually going to suggest it himself. I was happy that he was classing spending time with his family as important. Plus, I was pretty sure that Nik was looking forward to seeing everyone after they had been away the past few days, and honestly so was I. They were all due back tomorrow, so Bekah, Nik and I were putting the finishing touches on the decorations; the Christmas tree had already been hung and decorated in the courtyard, in the right hand corner of the room as you walked through the gates. The black railings on the balcony were draped with holly vines that were lit up with the colourful lights that were paired with them. The dining table was placed in the middle of the room, a red and golden table runner down the centre, the napkins already laid out for the Christmas dinner that we would be having tomorrow. I was getting more and more excited the closer we got to Christmas; I couldn't wait to see everyone's faces when they opened the presents I had got for them. I had already wrapped them and placed them under the tree, as well as texting Elena to see what Jeremy had thought of his presents.

 _Me: Hey Lena can't wait for you guys to get home tomorrow. I miss you all._

 _Elena: Me too, everyone else is missing you as well. Especially Kol, he won't stop talking about how much he needs his bestie around in order to be completely happy._

 _Me: Aww, I miss my bestie as well, and everyone else. Did Jeremy open his presents yet?_

 _Elena: Honestly, you two are impossible together and apart. And yes he did, he loved them all. I think he's starting to feel bad about avoiding you._

 _Me: I don't want him to feel bad, just tell him he can draw me a picture with his new art supplies to make it up to me._

 _Me: And as for my bestie our friendship is beautiful. Get on board._

 _Elena: Will do._

 _Elena: Yeah, yeah. You know sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you met Kol before Klaus._

 _Me: If you're suggesting what I think you are then Eww. Nothing would have happened other than me meeting my BFF before my mate._

 _Elena: Good point._

'What's got you so happy, love?' Nik asked, startling me a little; I had been smiling at my phone, still happy that Jeremy liked his presents.

'Oh, I was just texting Elena. She said Jeremy loves his presents.' I replied, putting my phone in my back pocket, before placing a soft kiss to his lips, 'did you get the decorations?'

I had mentioned a tradition that my parents and I had when I was little; we would each take it in turns every year to buy a new ornament for the tree. Bekah had loved the idea and declared this year her year and forced Nik to go out with her to pick out an ornament; Nik had pretended to drag his feet but I could tell his sisters excitement was infecting him as well. He stepped forward, slipping his hands into the back pockets of my jeans, our lower halves aligning as I reciprocated the gesture.

'Eventually, yes,' he playfully rolled his eyes, 'she dragged me to seven different stores before she made us go back to the first store to buy very first ornament she picked up.'

I laughed at that, shaking my head fondly as I imagined Nik's annoyance and impatience as he followed her around and Bekah's indecisiveness. I had been clothes shopping with her since Chicago and the girl changed her mind more often than an infant deciding what their favourite toy was. But that might have something to do with the fact that I detested clothes shopping; I'd rather face a hundred vampires on my own than spend time looking for and trying on clothes. At least in Chicago I got champagne.

'About Jeremy-,' Nik started, looking extremely uncomfortable; I knew that talking about feelings wasn't something he enjoyed, and I appreciated that he tried for me more than he knew.

'I don't blame you, Nik,' I assured him, hating that he felt responsible for my brother not understanding my love for the Original Hybrid, 'it'll sort itself out. I think his biggest issue is him remembering you sacrificing Elena on an alter. But if Elena can let that go than he can as well,' I winked, my tone teasing in order to make light of the situation.

He gave me an unimpressed look as he glowered at me, his expression making me laugh, but he did soften as I placed a kiss on his jaw. When I pulled back I noticed the same nervous expression on his face that had been showing up more and more frequently; it was starting to make _me_ nervous because it was obviously something to do with me… what if he didn't want me around anymore? I knew I was his mate but that didn't mean that he couldn't consciously decide that I was a weakness that could be exploited and used against him at any moment. We both had our own insecurities and whenever I sensed his worry when he was around me it was starting to bring out my own; that I wasn't worthy enough for him, that I didn't deserve to be a Mikaelson. Honestly I was worried that he would reach that revelation everyday.

'Actually, after she bought her ornament she mentioned going shopping for an outfit to wear on Christmas day… so I left her to it. She's going to be gone for hours.' Nik grinned mischievously.

'Really,' I laughed, resting my forehead against his.

'I was thinking we could have some dinner, without my sisters incessant chattering taking over the conversation and afterwards we can see where the night takes us.' Nik murmured, his voice taking on a seductive tone.

'That sounds perfect.' I said, looking forward to it; since we had come back from Mystic Falls we hadn't been alone or intimate. It was as if they had all come up with a pact not to leave us alone together, which when I sensed their worry over me being kidnapped again it warmed my heart but spending all day everyday casually touching Nik and not being able to take it any further was driving me _crazy._

'Good, because I already have everything set up,' he smirked.

'You do?' My brow rose in surprise, 'I didn't hear anything… how long have I been up here?' I wondered, looking around our bedroom as if it held the answers.

He chuckled, his thumbs rubbing back and forth across my lower back, sending tingles up and down my spine, 'I did it when I got back twenty minutes ago, my super speed comes in handy when I don't want to be heard.'

'I love you.' I said abruptly, taking him by surprise, his eyes widening slightly before they softened and he kissed my forehead affectionately.

'I love you,' he murmured, his voice low, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss before he pulled away, 'shall we?'

'We shall.' I replied, linking my arm though his as he led me outside of our bedroom, allowing me to see the courtyard over the balcony that surrounded the second floor and gasped at what I saw; the courtyard was illuminated by the Christmas lights snaked around the bars of the balcony and the Christmas tree. What made me gasp was the vast amount of candles that were placed on every flat surface, lighting up the room in a soft glow; there was soft classical music playing in the background over the sound system and there was a small circular dining table in the middle of the room with two place settings, a few tea light candles placed in the centre. I turned to Nik when we reached the table, sensing how nervous he was when the awe at all of his effort had worn off slightly.

'This is beautiful, Nik. You didn't have to go to so much trouble for me.' I murmured, sitting in the chair that he pulled out for me.

'Nonsense,' he waved his hand dismissively, pouring some red wine into the glasses on the table before he took his own seat across from me, 'you deserve to be spoiled, love.'

I didn't know how to respond to that, so other than a small smile and a blush I remained silent, taking the plate of mashed potatoes that Nik handed to me after he had placed a portion onto his own plate.

'So we haven't really talked about you actually getting the kingdom back,' I said, pouring gravy over my potatoes and sausages as I spoke.

' _We_ got the kingdom, love.' He corrected me, accepting the gravy from me, 'and I'm pleased that the Mikaelson family is running New Orleans once again as they should be.'

'I'm glad, I know how much it means to you, though you would never admit that aloud,' I winked teasingly when he glowered playfully.

'Anyway… did you get up to much when Bekah and I were shopping earlier?' Nik asked, swiftly changing the subject.

'I went to see Davina; she's settling nicely into her apartment and she enrolled in high school. She's much happier, I think she's enjoying finally being able to act like a normal teenager.' I said after I took a sip of my wine.

'Is high school a good idea when the witches of the quarter still want her dead?' Nik asked, his voice a little tense; I assumed he was struggling to control the urge to explode in anger that the situation was a little out of his control.

'She's taking them online and she's placed a boundary spell around her apartment. She's perfectly safe, if I'm not worried about it then you shouldn't be, Nik.' I told him, squeezing his hand in assurance, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards him, pleased when the tension in his shoulders seemed to leave him.

'Alright, love, I trust your judgement.' He said, offering me a small smile that I knew was genuine.

'She said she was going to visit Marcel over Christmas so I let her open her present today instead of tomorrow. She liked it, thankfully.' I murmured after another sip of wine, trying to change the subject a little, smiling as I remembered her expression when she opened the heart shaped golden locket I had gifted her. I hadn't put a picture inside of it, wanting it to be her decision. She had hugged me so hard and I had felt her genuine gratefulness as she asked me to put it on her. She had gifted me a new Pandora charm for the bracelet Elena had gifted me for my birthday. It was a dangling Christmas tree that she said she had gotten me because of my love of Christmas. I adored it.

'You are incredible.' He said, drawing me out of my thoughts, making me blush once I realised what he said, 'with all the horrible things I have done in my existence, I don't deserve you, love.'

'Nik-' I started, but he interrupted me, sliding out of his chair and making his way over to me, the nervous look that he had been wearing more and more often was present once again. When he took my right hand in his and got down on one knee in front of me, I literally stopped breathing.

'When I first saw you all those months ago I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. A part of me wanted to refuse to admit any interest in you but the other part wanted to _know_ you, to know your hopes, your dreams, everything you wanted in life. When Damon needed the cure, I couldn't help myself; I didn't want you to come with me and Stefan because of your gifts, I wanted you to come because I _needed_ to be near you and I didn't see another opportunities on the horizon. While a part of me will always feel remorseful for taking you away from your family, I can't bring myself to regret that summer. You saw the horrible things that I was capable of, but it didn't alter the way that you acted towards me… I have always been insecure and paranoid that if people observed the real me that they would be disgusted with what they saw, but you weren't, you _aren't_ and that is one of the reasons my love for you grows more and more each day. You're beautiful, smart, kind, compassionate, incredible and I want you to be officially mine forever.' He released my hand to reach into his back pocket, presenting a ring; it was silver, two diamond encrusted bands wound together to form an eternity symbol either side of the huge diamond that rested in the centre. It was beautiful. I looked up to his eyes, my blurred vision making me aware that tears were streaming down my face.

'Yes, of course I will, Nik,' I answered, once I managed to snap out of the state of shock I was in.

His answering smile was one of complete delight and I knew that I would remember it forever as I threw my arms around his neck with enough force to cause him to tumble backwards. I pulled back and captured his lips with my own, my hands tangling in his hair, moaning when his tongue traced my lower lip, granting him access. He broke the kiss, his gaze soft when I frowned in protest, which immediately eased into a smile when he took my left hand in his and placed the ring on my engagement finger. We both stared at it for a moment; it looked as if it belonged on my finger and I couldn't help but feel content upon seeing it there. His hand moved to caress the side of my face before he placed a gentle kiss upon my lips, which deepened when I wound my arms around his neck, my body becoming flush against his. Nik's hands moved from my hair to my waist, his palms flattening against my ass, slipping into the back pockets of my jeans, squeezing gently, smirking when I moaned. His lips moved to my neck, kissing me in the spot that made my skin break out in goose bumps whilst simultaneously feeling as if it was on fire, stirring the hunger I had for him. My hands moved from his hair, sliding down his chest, tearing his shirt away as I went, while my lips moved to kiss his jaw, travelling to his earlobe where I tugged at him with my teeth, making him growl. My lips moved to place open mouthed kisses to his chest as I travelled downwards, my hips squirming as I looked up to him under my lashes; his eyes were full of complete hunger and lust. My hands went to his pants, where I managed to undo his belt and his zipper before I was suddenly being laid down on the long dining table, my upper half was upon the table while my legs were wrapped around his waist. He looked down at me for a moment, his expression soft while his hands rested on my thighs, his thumbs moving back and forth in a way that was making my desire for him sky rocket. I leaned up, my hands gripping his shoulders as I pulled him down with me, smirking at the growl he released when I used our position to grind my hips against his. I knew that he wanted me just as much as I did him, which was confirmed when he tore my baby pink vest top from my body, tearing away my bra immediately afterwards, all the while not removing his lips from mine. I moaned at the friction of his bare chest against mine, my legs gripping his waist tighter as I grinded my hips against his once again, both of us moaning this time. I was about to reach forward to take his jeans completely off, but we both paused when we heard Bekah approaching the gates. We shared a look before I sat up and wrapped my arms around his neck, while Nik flashed us to our room, kicking the door shut behind us. He turned, pinning me against the closed door as his lips kissed down my chest, taking my left nipple into his mouth and sucking gently making my back arch and causing me to release a moan when he paired the sucking with his tongue. My hands tangled in his hair, holding him in place, while my chest moved up and down rapidly as my breathing became erratic.

I flashed us over to the bed, moving us so that I was on top of him, I grinned at his surprise before I tore his pants away from him, biting my lip to contain a moan when I observed that he wasn't wearing any underwear. I flashed away, standing at the foot of the bed for a mere moment, removing my high waisted shorts and underwear, before I was once again straddling his thighs. His hands went to my waist, squeezing me gently before I was suddenly underneath him, his hand caressed the side of my face before he placed a soft, gentle kiss to my lips as he slowly entered me, drawing a long and low moan from me that was swallowed in the kiss. His hips moved against mine leisurely and deliberately, while his gaze held mine; he was looking at me in astonishment, adoration and love; I was sure I was looking at him in the same way. Being on the end of that stare, paired with the way he was moving within me was intense, in the most amazing way possible. His lips moved to kiss my neck, starting from the spot behind my ear, down to the crook of my neck and back up again, nipping and sucking as he went, overloading my senses; he was worshipping my body and me and it wasn't long before the pleasure cascading through my body reached its crescendo, me calling out my name as I fell over the edge, him following closely behind me, his own sound of pleasure being swallowed in my neck as his human teeth sank into my skin. Once our breathing had returned to normal, he slowly pulled out of me, rolling onto his back and pulling me onto his chest. I kissed his jaw, my gaze moving to the ring that now encircled my engagement finger, where it would remain always and forever.

The next morning was Christmas day, but the presents under the tree wasn't what had me dressing as fast as I could, while I threw clothes to Nik and told him to hurry up to get dressed as well. His eyes twinkled with affection while his expression reflected amusement. Once we were clothed, I grabbed Nik's hand and flashed us both downstairs, leaping into the arms of the first person who stepped through the gates, that person turned out to be Elijah, and the shock on his face would have made me laugh if I wasn't so happy to see him.

'You're all back!' I exclaimed, hugging Elijah before I moved to hug Elena and Hayley at the same time, embracing them tight enough that they both released sounds of complaint.

'Excuse me, darling but where's my hug? You've obviously missed me the most!' Kol complained while I moved over to Finn.

I laughed as I made my way over to Kol, 'I was obviously saving the best for last.' I winked, hugging him tightly; he lifted me and span me around, making me chuckle.

He placed me back on the ground and I stepped out of his arms, my right hand entwining with Nik's as he came to stand beside me after he and Kol shared a brief hug. I could feel how happy everyone was to be back together again, including myself.

'Merry Christmas!' I said, practically jumping with excitement; everyone was eyeing me with amusement, aside from Elena who was used to my antics.

'We should open presents!' Kol said, my enthusiasm apparently affecting him as well.

'We need to wake Bekah up first!' I said, once I realised she hadn't woken up yet.

'Good point, darling,' Kol nodded in agreement before he shouted, 'Bekah, wake up, sister!'

I rolled my eyes playfully at his antics while Nik, Elena and Hayley chuckled in amusement, though when a bang erupted from upstairs followed by Bekah swearing Finn and Elijah released sounds of laughter as well. Bekah joined us moments later, looking a little annoyed but I could feel the excitement that she was desperately trying to hide.

'What reason do you pillocks have for waking me up at this ungodly hour?' She demanded, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrow quirked in mock annoyance.

'It was her idea,' Kol said, pointing in my direction and assigning the blame to me.

'Of course it was, it's Christmas! Now come on, Kol want's to open his presents,' I said, smiling innocently at Kol when Bekah's glare returned to him.

'So… presents?' Kol said, awkwardly, looking cautiously hopeful that Bekah wouldn't bite his head off, while I leaned against Nik's chest, kissing the side of his neck when he wound his arms around my waist. I placed my hands on top of his, enjoying the warmth and sanctuary his touch bought me.

'Presents,' Bekah agreed, dropping the fake anger she had been adopting, before she turned and made a beeline for the tree, excitement cascading from her in waves. Everyone else followed, Nik and I being the last, not wanting to step out of each other's embrace, but reluctantly we did, our hands linked together as we moved to stand around the tree with everyone else.

'I'm going to go first!' Kol shouted, practically diving underneath the tree as he searched for a present with his name on it, when he finally found one he cheered and opened it without a moment's hesitation. It was from me; I recognised the wrapping paper. I had spoken to Davina about being able to acquire any old and rare grimoires and she had pointed me in the direction of the same woman who ratted out Hayley when she had first came to the quarter, apparently she collected spell books as well as other rare magical objects. She had given me a spell book that had been owned by a powerful witch in the eighteenth century. I saw his face light up when he saw what it was, his expression becoming one of fascination as he opened the book, examining the pages with care.

'What is it?' Elena asked, curious.

'It's a grimoire of a powerful witch who resided in New Orleans three centuries ago.' He answered, placing it onto the table gently before he turned and gave me a hug in thanks, which I reciprocated with one arm as my other hand was entwined with Nik's, 'thank you, bestie.'

'You're welcome.' I told him.

Kol also received a new suit from Elijah and Hayley, a bottle of whiskey from Nik, a trip to Venice for him and Elena from Bekah and Finn, while Elena got him an iPod; he had mentioned wanting something separate from his phone to keep his music on. Bekah went next, starting with Nik's present first; he had gotten her a trip for two to Paris during fashion week, giving me a smug smirk when Bekah insisted that I should be the one to go with her. Kol and Elena had gotten her a bracelet that was spelled to burn her whenever one of her loved ones were in trouble. Finn had gotten her a first edition of Pride and Prejudice; a book she had adored when it was published. Elijah and Hayley had gotten her a pair of designer shoes she had been wanting for months; she had literally squealed when she saw them. I had gotten her a professional camera, knowing how fond and talented she was at taking pictures, up until now she had been using her phone; she had hugged me hard in thanks for that one and I was relieved she liked it. Finn went afterwards, and everyone aside from me had gone for a literature theme; he always seemed to be reading, or writing in a journal, which I had gifted him, along with a new golden fountain pen. Elijah received a fair few suits, as well as some whiskey from Nik and a trip for him and Hayley to Switzerland from me; I had heard him mention that he enjoyed skiing there in the summer. Hayley received a whole new outfit from me; Bekah and Elena while Nik, Finn and Kol had bought her different kinds of alcohol after they had seen how well she could handle her liquor over the many games of drunk twister we had played over the past few months. Elijah had gifted her with a silver necklace that held a pendant, which mirrored the birthmark she had on her shoulder. Elena got a new journal and a bracelet from me and Nik, Elijah and Hayley had gotten her the new handbag she had mentioned she liked a few weeks ago, Bekah and Finn gifted her an open ended plane ticket so that she could go anywhere she wanted to at any time, and Kol bought her a heart shaped silver locket that held a picture of them inside of it and was engraved with the words ' _Always and Forever'._ I had insisted that Nik go before me, wanting to see his reaction to what I had gotten him as well as everyone else's gifts. Elijah had gifted him with a book that I didn't catch the title of, it looked old and withered and from Nik's reaction I gathered it had some kind of emotional significance. Elena and Kol gifted him a bottle of whiskey; Finn got him a trip to London for two people and Bekah gave him a new easel, seeing as Nik had broken his last one a few weeks ago. Hayley had given him a new sweater, it was a royal blue and I already knew it was going to make his eyes even more captivating whenever he wore it. I gave him a few new different sized canvases, some new paints to replenish his favourites he was running low on and a leather necklace that held a silver pendant in the shape of a feather that reminded me of the tattoo on his shoulder; on the back it was inscribed with: _'Nik, I will love you, always & forever, Kim.' _He had managed to contain his reaction enough that it didn't show on the outside, but I could feel how much my words meant to him as he placed a tender kiss to my forehead in thanks, before he put the necklace on; I had a feeling that was where it was going to stay forever. It was my turn afterwards and I tried and failed to contain my excitement as Elijah handed me his present from him and Hayley; they gifted me a whole new outfit and Bekah got me deep brown fake leather boots that cut of just below my knee to match. Finn gifted me a bottle of my favourite whiskey and Kol gave me a silver bracelet that had two charms dangling from it, when I asked what they meant he told me they were the Chinese symbols for best friends; he had a leather bound bracelet that had the same symbols sown within the material, while Elena got me a framed picture of the Harry Potter cast that was also signed. I span around as Nik yanked my right hand and turned me to face the gates, a devious smile on his face.

'What're you doing?' I laughed.

'You'll see… now close your eyes.' Nik said, a smile on his lips and his hands clasped behind his back.

'Don't worry, Nik. I've got you covered,' Bekah said from behind me, her hands moving to cover my eyes when she had finished speaking.

My skin was tingling with anticipation; I had no idea what he was going to give me but I could sense his excitement as well as his anxiety. I heard the sounds of people shuffling around as well as the sound of footsteps walking through the front gates, coming to a stop not far from me.

'Okay if someone is holding a snake in front of me when I open my eyes I'm not going to be impressed.' I said, leaning back into Bekah when I pictured a snake being held in front of my face; I heard the boy's chuckle but the girls remained silent, understanding my fear. I could also sense the amusement from someone else in front of me, someone else who felt very… familiar. When the hands dropped from my eyes to reveal the mussed brown hair and brown eyes of my little brother, my jaw dropped open in shock.

'Hey, Kimmie,' Jeremy murmured, his eyes twinkling with laughter at my reaction.

I couldn't believe he was actually here. In that moment emotions were stirring within me like a storm cloud; I was worried that he was still disapproving of my relationship with Nik, I was overjoyed that he was here, I was a little emotional that this was the first time that I had seen him in lord knows how long. The last time he had seen me I had been human and desperately trying to stay away from a particular Hybrid that I was now engaged to, and last I checked Jeremy was _not_ okay with that. I felt Nik come up behind me and place his arm around my waist, his thumb moving back and forth gently where it was resting on my hipbone. The touch snapped me out of my trance and comforted me enough that the storm within me quelled instantly. I noticed that Jeremy's eyes were zeroed in on Nik's hold in my waist, but when I focused on him I sensed he felt _guilty,_ which I took immediately, not wanting him to feel that way.

'I can't believe you're here!' I finally said, stepping forward and hugging Jeremy hard enough that I was pretty sure I heard a few bones crack.

'Kimmie, I need to breathe.' He laughed, patting my back.

I reluctantly released him and stepped back into Nik's arms, the grin that had been present on my face since Nik had proposed growing a little.

'I convinced him he was being silly darling,' Kol said from the left of me.

'You convinced him? Kol, you spent the whole trip going out of your way to ignore him and when you did speak to him you would yell at the poor boy.' Elijah said shaking his head in disbelief at Kol's statement.

'You kept calling him a sister abandoner.' Hayley added, an amused smile playing on her face as she looked over to Kol, completely missing the adoring way that Elijah was staring at her.

'I got your back bestie.' Kol winked at me, making me laugh, as he didn't even bother to deny the accusations.

'Don't worry, I get it' I said, squeezing Jeremy's hand, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards him, noticing that his eyes softened when he saw that I genuinely wasn't mad at him.

'You're the best.' Jeremy said, walking forward and hugging me, stepping back before he spoke again, ' I realised how unfair I was being; when I heard about what Damon and Stefan did it got me thinking about all the shitty things we all forgave them for, and it was pretty hypocritical for me to not even try and forgive Klaus for killing Elena. And I do. Forgive you; if my sisters can then I definitely can.' Jeremy said, sincerely as he held out his hand to Klaus; Nik took it and they shook for a moment.

'I knew you'd come around,' I teased, reaching forward with my left hand to gently shove his chest, he caught my hand before I could pull it back and held it up examining it.

'You're engaged?' He exclaimed, observing the ring on my engagement finger.

I shared a look with Nik, both of our grins growing even more as he rested his forehead against mine.

'It would appear that way.' Nik murmured, placing a tender kiss to my forehead before he pulled my back against his chest, resting his chin on my shoulder so that we were once again facing everyone.

'Finally!' Bekah muttered, shaking her head in mock exasperation but there was a small, genuine smile on her lips.

'I didn't think he was going to do it,' Kol said, shaking his head in disbelief; he took twenty dollars out of the pocket of his blazer and handed it to Elijah who accepted it with a vaguely smug smile.

'Congratulations, to the both of you.' Elijah said, his voice genuine as he smiled brightly at the both of us.

'Wait a minute…' I started, things suddenly clicking into place in my mind, 'is this why you've all been acting weird for the past month?'

'Picked up on that, did you?' Kol asked, smirking, 'we thought we were being perfectly deceitful.'

I could practically hear Nik rolling his eyes at that comment; I turned my head and placed a kiss on his cheek before I turned back to Kol.

'He mentioned it a few days after we got back from Mystic Falls. He's been stressed about it ever since, convinced you'd turn him down,' Elena said, shaking her head in amusement; she could clearly see that I never would have turned his proposal down.

'Thank god!' I said, slumping into Nik's arms to the point that it was only his hands on my hips keeping me standing up right. I offered an explanation when I noticed everyone's confusion at my relief, 'I thought he was going to leave me.'

Everyone but the man holding me in his arms chuckled at that; Nik turned his head so that his lips were at my ear, whispering only loud enough for me to hear him; 'I would _never_ leave you, love. You're stuck with me, always and forever.' His voice rang with such promise that I found myself comforted by his declaration and I turned placing a kiss to his lips and sending a wave of reassurance towards him to let him know I felt the same way.

The rest of the day was wonderful; we had a huge Christmas dinner in the courtyard, everyone laughing, joking and getting along. Afterwards we spent the rest of the evening playing different games; twister, monopoly (which by the way, Kol was not happy about losing) and Pictionary (which Nik and I won by a landslide; we got split up after the first game when Elena pointed out that we were probably using our mate bond and our ability to read each others thoughts to win, which _may_ have been true…). We all finally went to bed around midnight, and as I fell asleep in Nik's arms, I couldn't ignore how overwhelmingly… _content_ I was, and I realised that as long as I spent my eternity falling asleep in Nik's arms, I would always feel that way.

 **There's chapter thirty three! I hope you enjoyed it- let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to Always.V.G16, Nameless Fable and Unorthodox119 for choosing to either follow or favourite my story- it means a lot! :)**

 _ **Ovgsmesa: One of the most epic fight scenes in the show and I must say you didn't disappoint with this chapter. Though that is a lot of heart ripping's, but a very interesting chapter nonetheless. I'm excited to see what's next.**_ **Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it; I really wanted to highlight Kim's extra strength in this scene as Ester did say she would be even more powerful than Niklaus when she turned. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next, which will be more action packed.**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: WOW… Epic fight (One-sided ;)) I'm curious as to what Nik is planning :D Have an idea :D Can't wait to see if I'm on the right road.**_ **Thank you! And I know right, Kim is kick ass when it comes to protecting the ones she loves. Were you right? ;) If not let me know what your idea was and I'll see if I can work it in in the future!**


	34. The Harvest Beckons

Chapter Thirty Four

The next day I was woken up by a something I had never experienced before; an earthquake. Though it managed to wake me up it didn't disturb the sleeping hybrid whose chest I had been lying on moments before; as soon as the quakes had started I'd sat up, looking around the room and watching the picture frames and mirrors on the walls shake back and forth, wondering what I was actually supposed to be doing. It was when the sleepy fog that had been clouding my brain had cleared that I was able to sense the foreboding feeling that washed over me; this wasn't a _normal_ earthquake- something was happening with Davina. Just as the thought occurred to me I heard my phone ring from the jeans that I had abandoned when I changed into my pyjamas in the early hours of this morning. It was officially Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, and I had a feeling that all of the peace that we had been granted since we had taken over the kingdom was about to dissipate. I picked up my phone in a flash, my disappearance from the bed making Klaus release a sound of protest in his sleep; if I hadn't been so worried it would have made me smile.

'Davina are you alright?' I asked, my tone one of concern.

'No, something's happening to me, Kimmie. I need your help. Please.' She begged, I could _feel_ how much pain she was in as well as her panic.

'I'm on my way sweetheart, just try and stay calm.' I told her, making my voice soothing as I took her panic as well as her pain and replaced it with calm, 'I'll be there in five minutes, and I will be bringing reinforcements so brace yourself.'

'Okay Kimmie, just hurry!' She cried.

I hung up the phone without another word, flashing into a pair of high waisted jeans and a white lacy crop top, not bothering with a bra or underwear. I flashed over to the side of the bed, shaking Klaus' shoulder roughly, explaining what was going on quickly. I asked him to get dressed while I flashed across the hall into Kol and Elena's bedroom; I managed to wake up Kol without disturbing Elena, and thankfully Kol was more than willing to help. Him and Nik were both dressed within seconds, and after that we were all on our way to Davina's apartment that resided within the quarter. I didn't have to be invited in, as she had already done it a few days prior when I had come over to drop off her Christmas present, but Kol and Nik were stuck at the threshold, looking and feeling helpless. I went on, finding Davina passed out on her living room carpet, without another thought I picked her up as gently as I could, holding her to me bridal style, carrying her without any trouble to the front door.

'She's not looking so good. She's not in any pain at the minute, but she had been when she called me earlier.' I said, my brow furrowed in concern.

'Come on darling, we'll get her back to the compound, we're of no use to her if we can't come in.' Kol said, his voice soft as he noticed my own worry.

I stepped over the threshold without another word, flashing her back to the compound, gently placing her down on the sofa in the courtyard. I vaguely registered Nik and Kol following behind me as I brushed her long brown hair from her face as I looked down on her. My heart squeezed painfully; she was so _young,_ she had a whole life ahead of her and she didn't need to be tangled up in a mess like this.

'Love, are you alright?' Nik asked, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, I placed my hand over his, snapping out of the trance I had been in, and turned my head to give him a soft smile.

'I'll be much better when we figure out how to help her, Nik.' I answered honestly, 'what do you think is going on Kol?'

'The only thing I can think of darling is this being a delayed reaction to the harvest ritual. When those girls died she absorbed all of their magic, magic that was _supposed_ to flow through the earth to strengthen the link to the ancestors.' Kol explained, his own brow furrowed in concentration.

'So you're saying that the power is becoming too much for her.' I clarified, running my hand through my loose curls when he nodded in affirmation.

'Darling…' Kol started; my eyes immediately snapped to his when I sensed the concern coming from him; he was afraid to tell me something.

'What is it, Kol?' I asked, keeping my voice low in order to keep my panic at bay.

'She's going to get worse. All of the elements will start to activate; the earthquake this morning was earth. Fire, wind and water will follow, each more disastrous than the last.' Kol's voice was gentle, but it didn't make hearing what he had to say any easier, 'the only way to stop it is to complete the harvest. She will die regardless, darling, but if we don't complete the ritual she will take a lot of innocent lives with her.'

My gaze moved from Kol's over to the unconscious teenager lying on the sofa. Davina was a sweet, kind and caring girl, sure she had an attitude sometimes, but what teenager didn't? I loved her like she was my own child, and I felt my protective instincts flare up inside of me, but at the same time I could feel the honesty behind Kol's words. The ritual needed to be completed or a lot of innocent people were _definitely_ going to die, that I knew for sure. I felt Nik entwine our hands and I squeezed him back in assurance as I focused on exactly how this harvest ritual was going to play out. I inhaled sharply when I felt that Davina was going to be all right, but I also felt a niggling feeling in the back of my brain that told me it was going to be more complicated than that. But it didn't matter; she was going to come back. She would be _alive._

'This is her choice, I'm not taking that away from her.' I finally said, my voice barely audible, even with the supernatural hearing in the room.

'Love-,' Nik was about to protest, but he was cut off when Davina suddenly shot up, her complexion a sickly pale and laced with perspiration as she gasped for breath. Davina looked around frantically, trying to gain her bearings, when she saw me she practically became airborne at the speed she leaped into my arms.

'Kimmie, thank god!' She sobbed; I could sense her fear as well as her pain creeping back up on her now that she was conscious and I took them both, hiding my own discomfort, as I made sure she was nothing but relaxed.

'Hey, it's okay. Everything's going to be alright.' I said, one hand stroking her hear while the other was still entwined with Nik's, gripping on for dear life.

'What's happening to me?' She murmured, her voice quiet now that she had calmed down.

'Davina…' My voice broke when she pulled back to read my expression; the complete trust I saw shining in her eyes made me want to sob; I felt like I was betraying her. I sat her back down on the sofa and took a seat beside her, Nik remaining standing but he was still close to me; I was still holding his hand, as his touch was the only thing that was giving me strength in that moment. I proceeded to tell her everything; why she had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, why the earthquake had happened, what was going to happen if she continued at this rate, and what had to happen in order for it to stop so that innocent people wouldn't have to die. Needless to say she didn't take it very well.

'You're telling me that after everything that Marcel has done, after everything _you_ have done to protect me from the witches and to stop me from being used in the ritual you're going to just hand me over to be used anyway?' She demanded, getting angrier by the second, but I took it before her emotions caused her to lash out with magic and potentially worsen her condition even further.

'Listen to me Davina,' I said, taking her hand with my free hand, relieved when she didn't shrug me off, 'if there was any other way then I would do everything I could to take that path but there _isn't._ If we complete this by doing the ritual, you _will_ come back, but if we do nothing, you will die for good.' My eyes didn't stray from hers, allowing her to see the complete sincerity shining in my gaze, and I saw that she was starting to believe me, thanks to her trust in me.

'How do you know I'll come back?' Davina asked, her voice reminding me of Elena's when she climbed into my bed after she had a nightmare when we were little.

'I'm part empath and part prophet, Davina,' I told her, squeezing her hand in comfort when a tremor ran through her body; I was taking her fear and pain but that didn't keep the physical affects away, at least not this time.

'What does that mean?' She asked.

'It means that her instincts are the most reliable in the supernatural community, darling.' Kol answered for me.

'Do you promise that I will come back, Kimmie?' She said, her lower lip trembling.

'Yes,' I promised her, 'but this is your choice, sweetie. If you don't want to go through with this, then that's fine.'

'I don't know about you but I'm not alright with her taking New Orleans and god knows who else down with her.' Nik said from beside me, his tone making me roll my eyes; he sounded a little irritated but I knew that was just his way of masking the fear he felt over potentially losing the lives of the people he felt obligated to protect, now that he was once again King.

'If that's what she wants to do then we can find a way for her to… pass on without hurting anyone else in the process.' I assured Nik, squeezing his hand a little tighter in reassurance, though with the death grip I currently had on him, I didn't know how that was possible. I could feel Nik's scepticism, but he must have sensed how frazzled I was in that moment, because other than a small sigh he didn't comment any further.

'I'll do it.' Davina said, surprising me, and pulling me out of the silent conversation I was having with Nik as I looked over to her.

'Are you sure?' I said, my voice soft.

'Yes. This way, I'll come back and I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me either.' She nodded as if to further confirm her decision, though the action caused the tears that had been building up in her eyes to fall down her cheeks.

'Do you want me to call Marcel?' I asked her, silently begging Nik to stay quiet for the time being; I didn't want his reaction to alter her decision.

'Please. Not that I don't trust your instincts, but I want to tell him goodbye just encase.' Davina murmured, wringing her hands together in a nervous gesture.

'Okay, why don't you go any lay down while we arrange things?' I smiled to her, placing a kiss on her forehead as I stood, 'third door on your right, sweetie.'

She followed my instructions without another word, I listened out, waiting for her to lay on the bed before I sent a wave of exhaustion towards her, happy when I heard her breathing even out and her heartbeat become regulated.

'You want to invite Marcel? Are you forgetting what happened in this very courtyard only a few weeks ago?' Klaus shouted, utterly pissed off.

'No, Nik I'm not. I hate him just as much as you do, but this is for Davina. She sees him as a father and children want their parents when they're scared. Can you just put aside your issues with him for twenty four hours?' I pleaded, happy that even in his anger he didn't release my hand.

He stared at me for a long moment, and I stared back, unperturbed. As I stared into his eyes I saw his anger fizzle away as he became calm, amazingly my empathetic abilities were not needed, before he nodded in agreement. I thanked him and asked him to call Marcel while I left to call Sophie; she was the only one who would be able to complete the ritual, but I the ball of led in my gut was getting harder and harder to ignore, something terrible was going to happen, but I knew my feelings of foreboding were nothing to do with Davina's fate; this was something else.

'Hello?' Sophie answered, sounding apprehensive as to why I was calling.

'Can you do the Harvest ritual?' I asked bluntly, we didn't have time to waste.

'No. I told you, only an elder can and you and your boyfriend killed them all.' She answered rather bitterly.

'Well how do you become an elder?' I rolled my eyes, knowing there was another way.

Sophie hesitated on the other end of the line, and I knew she had thought of something.

'What is it?' I demanded.

'Well… if I were to consecrate the remains of a powerful witch, it would give me the power I needed to become an elder and allow me to complete the ritual.' She said.

'Who did you have in mind?'

'There is one witch who happened to be intimate with one of the Mikaelson brothers…' she trailed off and my instincts helped me grasp whom she was hinting to without her having to speak.

'Elijah,' I whispered.

'Right. He used to be with a powerful witch named Celeste, right until Klaus murdered her and her entire coven.' Sophie explained, and I could sense her dying to ask what I saw in a certain Hybrid but I wasn't about to justify my feelings to her.

'And?' I said, my tone becoming one of exasperation.

'Well, word on the street is Elijah buried her remains in a top-secret spot. You need to find out where it is. Do it fast, because from the feel of that earthquake, Davina isn't doing so well.' Sophie said before hanging up the phone, I somehow managed _not_ to crush my phone to a million pieces as I shoved it in my back pocket. I ran my hand down my face, at a loss over what to do; Celeste may have been a powerful witch but Elijah was obviously in love with her, or he wouldn't have bothered to bury her. But if Sophie didn't consecrate the remains she wouldn't become an elder and then the harvest ritual wouldn't be completed. Deciding that this wasn't my choice to make, I flashed over to Hayley and Elijah's room, softly knocking before I moved to push open the door, only to find it empty. When I focused my hearing I realised that everyone was downstairs, listening to Nik and Kol as they filled them in on what was happening. I flashed down to the courtyard to join them without hesitation, Nik and I gravitating towards each other automatically; he held his arm out to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to his side without having to look for me or stopping in his explanation. I noticed that everyone looked varying degrees of tired and increasingly concerned as Nik and Kol continued to fill them in, once they were finished everyone was a wreck, especially Jeremy.

'This is so wrong. What kind of witches preform sacrifices for more power?' Jeremy muttered, sounding disbelieving.

'Unfortunately, these ones.' Kol commented dryly, his hand entwined with Elena's.

'I spoke to Sophie. She said that she can do the ritual if she consecrates the bones of a powerful witch, making her an elder.' My eyes moved over to Elijah's before I continued, 'she mentioned asking you about the remains of a witch named Celeste.' As soon as her name left my mouth, Elijah's whole demeanour and expression hardened as he attempted to close the curtains on his emotions, but I could feel how heartbroken he was at the mere mention of her.

'That's a name I haven't heard in centuries.' Elijah eventually murmured, his voice barely loud enough to be heard, I felt everyone's confusion over Elijah's behaviour, although Hayley was more worried at Elijah's sudden change in behaviour, she squeezed his hand and that seemed to bring him back from wherever his mind had wondered. He took a deep breath, the tension leaving him as he exhaled.

'If you don't want her to use Celeste's remains then it's fine. We can find another way.' I told him, sending comforting waves to him as well as the other concerned members of the room.

'I buried her underneath a willow tree. They were her favourite.' Elijah stated, emotion absent from his voice, 'I will make contact with Sophie myself and make sure that she acquires the remains.'

'If you're not okay with this-,' I started but he cut me off with a look on his way out of the door.

'I'm perfectly fine with this, Kimberly, I assure you.' Elijah promised, though I could tell that he didn't completely mean that, but I could also tell that there would be no stopping him from doing what he deemed necessary. He placed a gentle kiss to Hayley's forehead before he and Bekah left the compound, already texting Sophie where she would need to meet them.

'This seems so trivial to say with everything you clearly have going on right now, but I have a plane to catch,' Jeremy said, drawing the attention of the remaining people in the room.

'Normally I'd beg you to stay but I don't think it's safe for you at the moment, Jer.' I murmured, stepping forward and giving him a one armed hug, as my other hand was entwined with Nik's.

'Kimmie's right, Jer.' Elena agreed, moving to take my place in Jeremy's arms after I had released him.

'I know, listen you guys, if you need anything then let me know, alright? I love you both.' Jeremy said, ruffling both of our heads before he left, Finn offering him a ride to the airport, which he gladly accepted.

I felt sad watching him go, especially seeing as we'd only really mended things yesterday, but I knew that him being around here when Davina's powers were going haywire just wasn't a good idea in any way. As if someone heard me, the sound of rain hitting the pavements outside suddenly broke out, but it was harsh, fast and heavy, I knew that it would be flooding the streets within minutes. I made my way to Davina's room to check on her; I sensed that she wasn't in any pain and she wasn't panicking and when I entered the room it confirmed that she was still sleeping. Which was a bad sign; if her powers were still getting the better of her when she was unconscious it meant that this whole thing was moving a lot faster than I thought.

'I know this is going to work, at least for Davina, but I have a bad feeling about this, Nik.' I whispered, only loud enough for him to hear me, I noticed his eyes glittered with alarm at my confession.

'With what, love?' Nik asked, using his hold on my hand to pull me closer to him, my front now flush against his.

'Something is going to happen, something _terrible_ , but I don't know to who. Davina is going to be fine, that I'm certain of.' I admitted softly.

'That settles it then. We are not completing this bloody ritual.' Nik stated, his tone booking no room for argument, but I did anyway.

'Nik, no one is going to die, that I know for sure. So how bad could it be? This ritual needs to be done and you know it. For Davina, and for the people of New Orleans, your people of New Orleans.' I told him, placing a soft kiss to his pulse point to calm him down; it worked a little but there was still carefully concealed panic in the form of anger.

' _Our_ people, you're Queen of this city now love, don't you forget it. But this is still not happening, love.' Nik disagreed, his hands going to my waist as he pulled me even closer, resting his forehead against mine.

'It's all going to be fine in the long run, Nik, I promise you.' My hand caressed the side of his face as I spoke, once I was finished I moved my mouth to close the few centimetres that were separating my lips from his, giving him a soft kiss that was full of promise and assurance, 'I love you.' I whispered.

'As I love you,' Nik murmured back, his stance defeated.

'Did you get in touch with-,' I was cut off from asking my question when the very man I was about to enquire about burst through the door.

'What the hell is going on?' Marcel demanded, his eyes accusing as if he thought we had something to do with what was happening to Davina.

'The magic that's inside her is becoming too much. That earthquake you felt and the rain that's currently happening is just the beginning. It ends with fire and if we don't complete the ritual then the whole city will perish.' Nik explained, his hand tightening on my waist as he spoke, I could feel how much he was restraining himself from attacking the man stood in front of him; I sent him a wave gratitude and smiled when I felt his stance relax slightly.

'So what are you saying?' Marcel said, his voice carefully void of any emotion, but I sensed his concern for Davina.

'The ritual needs to be completed.' I told him, my voice soft; I may not like the man but I sympathised with him in that moment, 'Sophie is going to complete it and she will come back afterwards.'

'How can you be so sure of that?' Marcel asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he stood at the foot of the bed Davina was lying on, glaring over to where I was stood to Davina's left.

'I've done my research, every time that the ritual has been completed in the past, the harvest girls have been resurrected.' I stated, making my own voice sound sincere, even though I was lying; Nik and I definitely didn't trust Marcel enough to tell him what I was.

'And what? I'm supposed to just take your word for it?' Marcel laughed, disbelieving.

'Of course not. We aren't forcing her to do this, Marcel. This is her decision.' I said, my own eyes flickering over to the sleeping girl on the bed and then to the window when the rain hitting the windowpane seemed to become harsher, rougher.

He opened his mouth, probably to argue if the anger he was emitting had anything to do with it, but he was cut off when Davina suddenly shot upright in bed, the sky outside growling in rage as if it sensed her sudden consciousness. Marcel rushed to the other side of the bed, taking her hand in both of his own.

'Hey, D. How you doing?' He asked, his voice soft in a way I had never heard from him before.

'Not so good. And before you try and talk me out of this, Marcel, I need to do it. I trust that I will come back, I get that you're worried about me but this is _my_ decision. Please respect that.' Davina said, her voice weak, but she launched into her spiel straight away, probably already knowing Marcel well enough to know he would try and talk her out of this.

Marcel stared at the girl he considered a daughter for a long moment, his emotions playing out on his expression. For a long time he was staring at Davina in a way that made me think he was never going to be on board with us doing this, but then his expression softened as he observed Davina in awe and admiration.

'I'm not okay with this, D.' He started, continuing when Davina went to cut him off, 'but you're right, this is your decision to make and I'm going to trust that you're making the right one.'

Davina smiled, her pale complexion lighting up for a brief moment, before she reached forward and hugged Marcel. Nik excused himself from the room when his phone started to ring, and I followed him, knowing that Davina would want a moment alone with Marcel, also I knew that the call was more than likely something to do with the plan.

'I hope you're planning to deliver some good news, brother of mine.' Nik said, his voice sarcastic with an underlying threat of hostility.

'Actually, Niklaus, it appears we have run into a problem.' Elijah said, his voice calm and collected despite what he was saying, 'Celeste's remains hold no power and so she cannot be consecrated.'

'How is that even possible?' He asked after we shared a confused look.

'I have absolutely no idea. But finding that out is not my current primary focus. We need another way.' Elijah replied.

'Well unless you know the location of any other dead witches remains, I'm fresh out of ideas.' Nik muttered, irritated, I stepped forward and linked my hand with his free one, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly and managing to reduce him to a calmer state.

'Actually… what about our Mother?' Elijah suggested.

'Is that I good idea? If we consecrate her here she will be with the ancestors of New Orleans, she could rise again if they were to get behind her.' Nik responded, squeezing my hand tighter.

'If that happens, brother, then we shall deal with it, but unless you have any other ideas, I don't believe we have a choice in the matter.'

Nik and I shared another look before he reluctantly agreed, giving Elijah the address where he was storing his Mother's coffin before he hung up the phone. I released a long sigh, placing a soft kiss to Nik's cheek before I returned to Davina's room; it was time.

We made it to the cemetery thirty minutes later; we had decided not to rush as Marcel carried Davina at a human pace towards our destination. Sophie needed time to consecrate Esters remains, and none of us were eager to get this over with. The rain hadn't ceased, sun was absent from the sky and the clouds were a menacing grey. Rebekah and Elijah were already there, Kol, Elena and Hayley were following a little behind me and Nik, while Finn had gone from the airport to find Elizabeth to make sure she remained safe with the horrible turn the weather had taken; half of the city was destroyed and flooded from the earthquake and rain that had happened so far.

'Finally! Let's get this show on the road.' Bekah said, her arms crossed over her chest where she stood next to Elijah; Sophie was stood on top of grey paving stone, which I assumed was the alter, wearing dark robes and holding a knife in a fierce grip in her right hand, the bodies of the three other harvest girls laid at her feet.

'Ease up, will you.' Marcel snapped at Rebekah before he gently placed Davina onto her feet, 'are you sure you want to do this?'

'I am,' she smiled weakly, hugging him briefly before she stepped out of his embrace and walked over to me. I pulled her into my arms without another thought and squeezed her tightly.

'It's going to be okay,' I promised her.

'I know. I love you, Kimmie.' She whispered into my hair.

'I love you too.' I told her, and I meant it, I didn't know how but over these past few months she had become a daughter to me and the reality that I was about to watch her die- even if it was briefly- was heart breaking.

I held her for a moment longer before she let me go and stepped onto the alter to stand in front of Sophie, the rain making it difficult for them to maintain eye contact. Nik placed his arm around my waist, his thumb moving back and forth over my hipbone in a comforting gesture; I placed my hand over his to show my appreciation. Sophie held the knife over one of the two small fire pits that were mounted on top of the stone before she held it to Davina's throat.

'Do you believe in the harvest?' Sophie said, her voice lacking confidence and conviction.

'I believe.' Davina said, her voice barely comprehensible over the rain that was falling all around us.

Without another word the blade was drawn across Davina's throat, the act void of any hesitation. The action caused everyone to wince as Davina gasped for breath, but I made sure that she didn't feel the pain of the blade, or the fear, when she fell back into the waiting arms of Marcel Gerard, she was nothing but calm. I noticed that a soft white glow emitted from her, traveling down her arm, where it faded at her fingertips. Marcel sobbed into Davina's shoulder before he lifted her once again, laying her down beside the other three girls dressed in white. The rain suddenly ceased, the only sounds left being the crackling of the fire.

Sophie stepped down from the alter, standing just to the side of it, her head tilted towards the sky as she addressed the ancestors.

'After the harvest, comes the reaping. Their sacrifices made and accepted. We call upon your elders to resurrect your chosen ones.' Sophie said, looking down, her expression filled with hope and impatience as she waited for the girls to wake up. But they didn't. Everyone seemed to share equal looks of confusion before we looked to Sophie's frowning face for an explanation. She didn't offer one, repeating her words, her voice taking on a worried tone as she did.

'Please. I beg.' Sophie murmured, her voice breaking into a sob when nothing happened. She kneeled down, her cries getting louder as she cradled her niece to her chest. Marcel was pacing, grief coming off him in waves; he shared a look with Klaus before he flashed away, a soft breeze hinting at his departure. Nik looked as if he was about to follow suit but he suddenly fell forward, almost landing on his knees before I caught him.

'Nik?' I said, my voice worried.

'I-' Nik tried to speak but he uttered no more than a word before his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head, his body becoming a dead weight as he lost consciousness. I knew then that _this_ was the moment that the worry in my stomach had been warning me about.

'What's happening?' Bekah demanded, coming to stand behind Nik and helping my lay him down on the free space upon the alter.

'I don't know,' I cried, 'but whatever it is it's not good.'

'Sophie, can you do something?' Elena asked, her voice also laced with concern.

I could sense everyone's surprise when she immediately jumped up and leaned over Nik, chanting. But when I sensed the grief within her that she was trying to desperately ignore I knew why she was willing to do this; she wanted a distraction. But I didn't care, in that moment my attention was on Nik, hoping that the bad feeling I had been experiencing all day was wrong, hoping that I was just being irrational.

Sophie stopped her chanting and looked up, her gaze meeting mine, I knew before she spoke that whatever it was going to be bad.

'The ancestors have a hold on his mind. I tried to break it but they're too strong, he won't wake until they are done with him.' She declared.

'What if you could be stronger?' I said, a sudden idea coming over me as I gently brushed away a curl that had fallen on Nik's forehead.

'What are you suggesting, darling?' Kol asked from where he was kneeling beside Nik, across from me.

'Channel me,' I said, looking Sophie dead in the eye.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise before she nodded in acceptance, taking my free hand in between both of hers before she started to chant again. I could feel that she was draining the power from me, but at the same time I didn't feel weak, it was as if I had an endless supply of energy.

Sophie stopped in her chanting, before I could demand to know what was happening, Nik's head shot up from my lap as he switched into sitting position. He was looking around and I could sense that he was confused as well as bewildered.

'What the hell just happened?' He demanded, rubbing his temple.

'The ancestors were trying to do something with your mind-,' I started to explain but I cut off when his head whipped around and he regarded me in a way that I had never seen from him before.

'Forgive me, love, but who are you?' Nik smirked, his eyes cold and distant.

'Are you joking? Because that is _not_ funny.' I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my brow in warning, refusing to focus on his emotions; if he was being honest right now I didn't know how I would handle that.

'Seriously. I have no idea who you are.' He stated, the smirk falling from his face only to be replaced with a dangerous frown.

'What's the last thing you remember?' Elijah asked, his voice calm as he tried to diffuse the situation before it got too heated.

'Sophie was completing the harvest ritual and then all of a sudden I just collapsed. Now what was it the ancestors were doing to me?' He directed the question to me, as I had been the one who was explaining everything before he cut me off earlier.

'The ancestors had a hold of your mind.' I muttered, biting my lip with worry before I asked him the question I was dreading, 'am I the only one you don't recognise?'

He stared at me for a moment, as if he was considering attacking me for questioning him, but he complied, looking around the group before his eyes returned back to mine.

'I'm afraid so, love.' His voice was emotionless and when I focused on him and sensed that he was being honest as well as regarding me with poorly concealed disdain my heart _broke._

'You don't remember your own mate?' Kol scoffed, clearly thinking that Nik was trying to fool us all.

'My own _what?_ ' Klaus shouted, his own tone one of disbelief as he started at me as though I was trying to trick him.

'Your mate, your fiancé, one true love. Ringing any bells?' Kol asked, starting to become worried himself.

'I have no idea what you're talking about, _brother_ ,' his voice became venomous as he glared at Kol before his icy gaze returned to me; I had to force myself _not_ to flinch underneath the intensity behind it, 'as for _you,_ I don't know what game you're trying to play, but I can assure you that _love_ is something that I wouldn't lower myself to. Now why don't you run along and try your trickery elsewhere, before I _make_ you.'

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to deal with the fact that he was speaking to me in a way that he _never_ had before. A way that made me want to partly cry and punch him in the face, but instead I laughed. I laughed long and hard as I clapped my hands together, genuinely amused; I only became more so when I saw his expression. He was a mixture of pissed and confused.

'I'm sorry.' I said, wiping the tears of mirth from my eyes before my eyes met his, 'I just find it absolutely _adorable_ that you think you can make me do anything.'

Klaus' nostrils flared and his eyes widened with absolute fury. I smirked and raised my brow, careful to conceal how torn up I actually was at this moment; the throbbing in my heart that I only experienced when I was separated from him had increased to the point that it was physically painful.

'Are you _challenging_ me?' His voice was low and threatening.

'Clearly. If you didn't pick up on that then you're not as clever as you seem to think you are.' I knew I was goading him, but sarcasm was my defence mechanism and in that moment I was clinging to it for dear life.

'Niklaus, perhaps it would be better for everyone if-' Elijah tried to calm down his brother, but it was clear that I had pushed him to the point of no return.

'Do me a favour, brother dearest, and _shut up,'_ Klaus snarled before he flashed forward, moving to rip out my heart but I caught his wrist easily and twisted his arm until I heard bones crack before I pushed him backwards into one of the crypts behind him with enough force to make the stone crumble. I twisted my own bone back into place and saw him do the same, his eyes flashing amber as he rushed forward to attack me again. He managed to pin me to the stone wall behind me, his hand plunging into my chest as he grasped my heart in his hand; I refused to let the pain register on my face as I used his shock at his own chest opening up to release myself, bringing my leg up and kicking his abdomen, sending him flying, landing on his back about twenty feet from me. I looked down, ignoring the fact that he had ruined my favourite white crop top, as I noticed that my wound had already healed. Before he could reach me for the third time, Elijah and Kol managed to pin him to the crypt that was closest to where he was standing, though Nik was trying with all his might to get free, his eyes amber because of his fury.

'Niklaus, enough! I do not know why your memories have suddenly disappeared but I can assure you, when you do get them back you will regret the hand that you have already lain on her.' Elijah shouted, slamming Nik against the crypt hard enough that it cracked, but he managed to gain his attention.

Bekah, Elena and Hayley gathered around me; Elena and Bekah each had a hand around my waist while Hayley rested her hand on my shoulder, all of them showing me their support.

'Why are you so sure that it is me that has lost my memories, Elijah? How do you not know she has not forced her trickery upon you all?' Nik demanded, glaring over to me, a look that made me want to sob, but I refused to cry in front of him.

'I can assure you, Niklaus, Mother will have had something to do with this. She tried to keep you both apart and stop you from turning her because together you are unstoppable. This must be her way of doing it now, as she hasn't the power to kill either of you since you made her immortal.' Elijah said, the sincerity in his voice enough to make Nik cease his struggling. Kol and Elijah hesitantly released their grip, but remained vigilant encase he was trying to trick them.

'Give me your word,' Nik said, staring intently at Elijah.

'I give you my word,' Elijah said, his voice shining with promise.

At that the fight completely left him, and I knew that he wasn't going to try and attack me anymore, much to my relief. I didn't want to fight him, and I _hated_ it; I didn't know if I would ever be able to forget the way he had looked at me as if I were the enemy while he attempted to rip my heart from my chest. I pushed my feelings of sadness and complete and utter despair down as I relied on my best friends, sarcasm and irony to help me through this.

'You know, if you don't believe that we're mates then you're definitely not going to believe that you prop-,' I started a smirk on my lips but I was cut off by Bekah.

'Maybe now isn't the _best_ time, Kimmie,' she murmured, her eyes staying on her brother, also worried that he was going to try something else.

'No, please, do tell.' Nik said, his own tone mirroring mine.

'You know what? Forget it. Let's start over.' I said, stepping forward out of the grip Elena, Bekah and Hayley had on me, coming to a stop in front of Nik who was staring at me, his expression void of any emotion, 'I'm Kimberly M-' I paused, realising what I was about to say before I quickly composed myself, 'Gilbert. Kimberly Gilbert.'

Nik started at me, his gaze unwavering and I could feel the waves of apprehension and distrust flowing from him. I hated it. With a shake of my head and a faux amused smile on my lips, I turned around and walked over to the alter, deciding to opt for focusing on Davina and the failing of the harvest ritual; it was clear I wasn't going to get anywhere with Nik anytime soon, and I needed the distraction to stop myself from falling apart.

'What happened?' I asked, crouching next to Davina, gently bringing her head to rest on my lap as I softly stroked her hair.

'I don't know. The ancestors wiped his memories, and seeing as it's only you he can't remember I'd say that you will need a ripple effect to return them. He needs to remember the moment that he knew he loved you and all of his memories will come back.' Sophie said, without looking up from her niece's lifeless body; she had answered the question I had been too afraid to ask, and I was grateful for it, though it wasn't exactly helpful. My gaze moved over to Nik's and his expression sliced my heart right open; he was openly glaring at me in hatred.

'Well I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon,' I muttered under my breath before I turned, placing my hand on Sophie's, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her, 'they will come back, Sophie. I don't know why it's taking longer but I swear to you, they will come back. You know you can trust my instincts, and you know I never would have let Davina do this if I thought it would result in her immediate death.'

Sophie's gaze met my own, her expression softening into one of relief when she saw the sincerity in my eyes. She accepted my word and began to spell Davina with magic to assure that her body would be maintained until the time came. Once she was finished I scooped Davina into my arms bridal style and turned to my family, 'I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to take her home.' Without another word I flashed back to the compound. After I gently set Davina down onto the bed she had been occupying earlier in the afternoon, I changed her clothes from the white dress that was wet with rain and drenched with her blood into a pair of my high waisted jeans and a deep green vest top. Once I was finished I brushed the hair from her face, placing a tender kiss to her forehead before I left the room. I went to mine and Nik's room. The covers were rumbled from when we'd hurriedly rushed out of bed this morning. I had shoes thrown across the floor, while Nik had random t-shirts and jeans thrown in various heaps around the room. He had a thick bound book on his bedside table, along with the few clips he had removed from my hair after one of the many events we had been to when we were trying to regain the kingdom. There were Nik's various leather necklaces, his cologne that he didn't wear anymore when I'd told him that I liked his scent just fine without it, the books I had been gifted for my birthday. My eyes came to a stop at the photo album Bekah had gifted me for my birthday, I picked it up with shaky hands, tears were falling steadily down my cheeks, though I had no idea when they had started.

The first picture had been taken back in Chicago, when Nik had fallen asleep; his head on my chest, and his hands around my waist while my own hands were tangled in his hair. The first picture was enough to make me sob, I couldn't bring myself to look at any of the others, and instead I left the room after I gently placed the album back where I had found it. The door closed behind me with a soft click. I went to Bekah's room and crawled into the middle of the bed, silent, unstoppable tears falling down my cheeks as I tightly hugged my knees to my chest, trying to ease the aching that my heart was currently experiencing. I heard the others return at some point, and Bekah came to her room almost immediately, coming to lie behind me, I turned to her, clinging to her as if she was my lifeline as I silently sobbed. She ran her hand through my hair, not ceasing at any point; my tears didn't until the next morning. By then I felt numb, like nothing no longer mattered.

 **There's chapter thirty four! Don't hate me and let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to Stjarna23, militato123, ruler of the ice dragons, Storm Vampire, MageVicky, Nicki Lynn, RiverWinchester, Shopaholic-Pixxie, Lilrobo02, DamnIfTheseWallsCouldTalk and elljayde for choosing to either favourite or follow my story- it means a lot :)**

 _ **Obgsmesa: In the chapter before when Kim mentioned Nik being awkward and nervous around her, I thought he wanted to try for a baby and not the engage rings. Because I remembered he gave a a ring with the engraving "Always and forever" before. This is a really cute chapter and it's good to see that despite having the mate bond they still have some relationships insecurities that make it relatable. And as always good work!**_ **Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it :) As for the babies that will be happening soon, don't worry ;)**

 _ **Kwill9: I just started reading this story this morning and I haven't stopped since. This is amazing! I look forward to the next chapters! (:**_ **Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it :)**

 _ **MageVicky: Good chapter! I enjoyed the interactions with Elijah.**_ **Thank you, enjoyed writing them :)**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg great chapter! I'm so relieved they won't lose anyone they know in the ritual!**_ **Thank you, leaving Jenna out of it was important to me- I was devastated when they killed her off in the TV show.**

 _ **MageVicky: Great chapter! I love Kim! I love her interactions with the other characters!**_ **Thank you! I do too:)**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg that was so good! Great chapter!**_ **Thank you ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg that was so hot. I loved it. I'm sure my physics teacher is currently wondering why a lesson on the orbit of satellites has me blushing.**_ **Haha, I'm glad you liked it, though I'm sorry for making you blush in the middle of a physics lesson, though I don't blame you for reading during- I was never one for physics.**

 _ **MageVicky: Nik and Kim have amazing chemistry. I love it. And I can't wait until she meets Rebekah. But I'm also afraid of what's going to happen in the future… after Chicago.**_ **Don't worry, it all works out ;) and thank you, I love writing the chemistry between them both.**

 _ **MageVicky: I love Rebekah and I'm glad they finally met!**_ **Me too, I love their relationship and I love writing it :)**

 _ **MageVicky: It's a great chapter, but the ending made me afraid. They're finally back in mystic falls. I'm so anxious.**_ **Don't worry, it all worked out ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: I like the sisterly bond between Kim and Elena. Usually in fanfics, the OC tends to fight with Elena a lot.**_ **I noticed that, but I wanted Kim and Elena to be close; Kim is the big sister and she is fiercely protective of her family.**

 _ **MageVicky: The ending to this chapter is sooooooo adorable! I'm betting Klaus feels the same way.**_ **You might be right about that ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Sweet chapter. I'm glad she has the shirts, it's too adorable. I wonder if Klaus will find out?**_ **I wonder, I wonder… ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg I'm so glad she knows that everything is going to be fine! I swear I felt so bad for Klaus when we learned his story.**_ **I know, me too! It's so sad that he was the way he was because of his mother and father. He deserved better, and Kim obviously feels the same way ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: I hate that Klaus feels betrayed. But I'm sure she'll be able to explain at some point that she knew everything was going to be fine.**_ **Hmm… you might be right about that ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Wow. Such an emotional chapter.**_ **I know, I felt the same way when writing it, it was hard for me at some points.**

 _ **MageVicky: Aw! Finally back together! I'm so happy!**_ **Me too :)**

 _ **MageVicky: Wow, great ending! Now they're definitely back together! Their chemistry is amazing!**_ **Thank you, I think so too.**

 _ **MageVicky: Aw Kim made the reunion sweet. But I'm afraid about what mamma original could do to her.**_ **Although there was always going to be tension, I wanted the reunion to be successful and yeah I'm not so fond of mamma original and her motives either.**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg please keep Caroline and Tyler together and don't bring in Hayley! Also, great chapter! I'm so glad they didn't drink the champagne!**_ **Me too! And don't worry, Caroline and Tyler are still together ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: I'm so happy with Elena's role right now! Thank you for making her awesome! And I hope she dates Kol.**_ **Thank you, I like the way I've written her too and don't worry ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg no!**_ **Sorry ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Great chapter! I'm glad they're all getting along! But what's going to happen now?**_ **Thank you and you'll just have to wait and see ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Awesome chapter! Though I admit it's odd to have Elena as part of the Mikaelson family. That breakfast scene with Elena just casually eating cereal with the originals was pretty surreal. But funny.**_ **Thank you, I hope Elena seems like she belongs a little more now.**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg they're both vampires now! That's so cool!**_ **I think so too ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Good chapter! Though the original storyline in New Orleans is not my cup of tea, honestly. But still.**_ **Aw, well I hope you're enjoying it regardless (:**

 _ **MageVicky: I suppose I don't mind Hayley as much as I thought I would. As long as she keeps her paws to herself.**_ **I'm glad ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Nice chapter.**_ **Thank you.**

 _ **MageVicky: I hope it all goes well!**_ **It does ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Good chapter! But what an ending! Of course, I'm banking on the hope that whoever just kidnapped Kim doesn't know she's an original.**_ **Thank you and I guess you'll see ;)**

 _ **MageVicky: Ah, well. I liked the way you ended things with the Salvatore's. Clean slate and all that. Better than simply killing them. And I always appreciate the fun family moments they all have together.**_ **Thank you, I thought it was important to tie those ends up. And me too (:**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg that was so great! I am so happy!**_ **I'm glad! (:**

 _ **MageVicky: I'm so happy! Jeremy is back and they're all together! I love it! But when is she going to get pregnant? I'm assuming it should be unexpected. So I wont ask for a spoiler. Also, if Jeremy decides to stay there, is he going to end up with anyone we know?**_ **I'm glad you liked it (: Unfortunately, I'm keeping Jeremy out of it, at least for the time being; with everything that is going on I think the possibility of him not dying is very slim. And yes she is… eventually ;)**


	35. My Love You Must Remember Me

Chapter Thirty Five

At around three in the morning I managed to smother my tears by sheer force of will; Bekah had been amazing, holding me and soothingly stoking my hair while she let me cry, but she needed her sleep. So once I had managed to make it appear as though I had calmed down, I sent a wave of exhaustion towards Bekah, pulling the covers over her before I left the room and went to shower in the bathroom attached to her bedroom. As much as I wanted to continue my pity party, I knew that shedding more tears wasn't going to get me anywhere, so instead I used the time in the shower to allow my wall of resolve to fall back into place. Once I felt ready to face the day, I shut off the shower, silently dressing in one of Bekah's rosy pink body con dresses, black boots and black leather jacket, seeing as I couldn't face going into mine and Nik's room. I left my hair to fall down the middle of my back, letting it air dry. When I was completely ready, I left Bekah's room, softly closing the door behind me.

As I made my way to the courtyard my mind went back to yesterday and I winced when the first memory my mind conjured up was Nik's face glaring at me with murderous intent, followed by Davina's throat being cut wide open. Instantly dismissing the images as they formed, I thought back to something that had bothered me yesterday, though with everything that had been happening I had let it slide at the time. I remembered the ball of anxiety that had washed over me when Elijah mentioned Celeste's remains held no magic; it seemed completely _off_ to me. If the magic wasn't held within her remains, then where had it gone? With that question in mind I steered to the right, instead of going to the courtyard I went to the small library and started to scan the books within the small magical section that we possessed. One title in particular stood out to me: _Magical entities and their owners._ I gently pulled it out without another thought and went to sit on the desk, my back facing the giant window that wasn't helping shine light into the room seeing as it was barely four in the morning.

I had nearly reached the end of the colossal book, and my hope that this hardback held all of my answers was slowly starting to fade, until a particular passage caught my eye after hours of reading:

 _Witches are known to be servants of nature, and are therefore expected to have an average life expectancy, similar to that of a human. While this may be so, there are certain remedies that can be obtained in order to create a longer life expectancy. Some spells and herbal remedies is one solution and this is considered the natural way. However, other witches have been known to bind their magic and soul to nothing but themselves, meaning that when their body dies, their soul and their magic are not confined to the host that they had been inhabiting, leaving them the freedom to jump into another body. This is certainly the less than traditional way, and is frowned upon in many covens, though because the witches who do this often take over bodies of the recently deceased, and therefore do not interfere with anyone's life, it keeps the balance of nature in a sense._

'What are you reading?' Nik's voice startled me from the doorway, my eyes snapping to his in surprise.

I was a little apprehensive when I saw that he was observing me wonder and curiosity shining in his eyes as well as emitting from him in waves. I guess that was better than the fury that had been present only hours before. I didn't give him a verbal response, holding up the book so he could see the cover instead.

'Any particular reason?' He smirked, clasping his arms behind his back as he waited for my answer.

'Actually I was just about to hunt down Elijah, you can tag along if you want.' I said, returning his smirk as I stood from my chair, folding down the page in the book as I made my way out the door. Nik turned so that I could slide past him, but not without my skin brushing up against his and leaving a tingling fire in its wake. I felt my heart beat pick up and I refused to meet Nik's eyes to see if he had noticed, turning on my heel and walking back downstairs where I heard Elijah and Hayley having breakfast in the kitchen. It looked like they were just finishing up so I wasted no time in throwing the book to land with a thud in front of the now empty place where his plate had been seconds before. He looked up to meet my gaze in surprise, his eyes flickering over my shoulder to where Nik was standing, giving him an almost warning look before his eyes returned to mine. I sat down in the seat directly across from him.

'What is the meaning of this, Kimberly?' Elijah asked, looking to the book and then back to me.

'Yesterday, when you mentioned Celeste's remains held no magic anymore I found it odd, but with everything else going on I didn't really question it. But this morning I got thinking…take a look at the marked page.' I said, bringing my elbows to the table and resting my chin on my fist as I waited for him to read the short paragraph I had found.

'You think that she's still alive?' Elijah clarified.

'When I went to visit Davina on Christmas Eve she had a huge portrait of a woman in her lounge. I never asked her about it or why she had drawn it, but I got a weird vibe from it. I think they're linked.' I explained, trying not to react when Nik went from standing to pulling out the chair beside me and taking a seat.

'You think Davina prophesised her return?' Elijah murmured, and I could tell that he believed me and was too deliberating the implications.

'I do. I don't know what it means for sure, but I think that her return is linked to why the harvest ritual didn't work last night.' I told him, absentmindedly running my hand through my now dry hair in a nervous gesture.

'The book says that the witches usually take over the bodies of the recently deceased. Can you think of anyone to fit that description?' Nik asked after he had read the short passage in the book he had taken from Elijah.

'Sabine.' I answered honestly, directing my answer to Elijah; she had been an elder and a witch; it would make perfect sense for her to be the body she chose to inhabit.

Just as Elijah was about to reply he was cut off by Kol's phone ringing as he and Elena joined us in the room. All eyes turned to him; everyone was in the kitchen now aside from Bekah and Finn. I assumed Finn was still with Elizabeth and Bekah was still sleeping.

'Yes, Sophie?' Kol murmured into the receiver, squeezing Elena's hand gently before he released her as she made her way to the fridge, probably for a glass of blood.

'We have a problem. The covens have reported three sets of sacrifices around the city, there's a witch who's gathering power and the markings they are leaving behind are like nothing I have ever seen before.' Sophie said, foregoing any kind of greeting.

'You're right, that is a problem.' Kol agreed, running a hand through his hair in concern.

'I'm sending you some pictures now. There are these markings engraved on the heads of each. As well as a triangular symbol they were each laid within. From what I can tell the first set were witches, the second were vampires and the third were werewolves.' Sophie said, her voice sounding further away; I assumed she had us on speakerphone while she spoke and sent us the pictures at the same time, which was confirmed when Kol pulled his phone away from his ear, hanging up on Sophie as he did, his expression paling as he took the photographs in.

'What is it?' Nik asked, standing from his chair and moving to take the phone from Kol, but it wasn't necessary as Kol turned the screen to face us all, stopping Nik in his tracks. The picture was of a young brunette, a vampire if the greying of her skin was anything to go by. She was laid in the centre of a triangular symbol, which appeared to be formed with salt, an asterisk star engraved into her forehead.

'What the bloody hell is going on?' Bekah asked, coming into the kitchen and sidestepping Kol, she looked cranky from lack of sleep but when she caught sight of the image on Kol's phone her whole demeanour emitted fear.

'What is it?' Hayley asked, which I was grateful for; I was wondering the same thing.

'Papa Tunde. But it can't be, I butchered him centuries ago,' Nik said, his tone one of disbelief, but I could sense his panic, I sent a comforting wave towards him out of reflex, as well as the other occupants in the room who were starting to panic as well.

'Okay, and what is it about him that's got everyone terrified out of their minds?' Elena inquired, coming to take the empty seat that Nik had vacated beside me.

'He sacrifices supernatural beings in factors of twelve until he has formed a pentagram. If he's already completed three of the five and he has so far taken witches, vampires and werewolves the next two he will commit is anyone's guess.' Elijah stated, his hands coming to rest in front of his face in a prayer position.

'Didn't you say he needed to form a pentagram?' I clarified, continuing when he nodded, 'well can't we plot the ones he has already committed so far? That should leave us with the two clear points that he will have to complete the other two sets of sacrifices, if we split up we can cover them both.'

'Excuse me, but who gave you the authority over what this family does to fend off its enemies?' Nik demanded, shouting at the side of my head, clearly enraged but I just ignored him looking over to Kol as I waited for his conformation. Kol glared at his older brother before his eyes met mine and softened immediately.

'Excellent idea, bestie. I'll go and get a map,' Kol said, flashing away without another word.

'What about Celeste? What if she's the reason Tunde is back from the dead?' Elena pondered, looking over to Elijah.

'She has a point. The harvest girls not waking up, Davina predicting Celeste's return and now Tunde, a powerful warlock that Klaus butchered centuries ago suddenly turns up? That can't be a coincidence.' Hayley agreed, her gaze flickering to everyone in the room as she tried to read us all.

'I agree.' Elijah murmured, but held off on saying anything further; I assumed he wanted to hold off until we had the other locations pinpointed.

Kol came down a few moments later, placing the map on the table; he had the sacrifice's that had already happened marked in red and the spots that would be needed to complete the pentagram marked in black.

'Well that's convenient,' I snorted when I noticed that one of the black spots marked the spot of the compound.

'Indeed it is,' Elijah agreed.

'So is anyone actually going to lay out a plan of attack or are we just going to sit around staring at a map?' Nik muttered, his voice angry, I refused to try and calm him down because I didn't know how he would react, I didn't want to risk repeating the events of yesterday.

'Wow. I didn't realise how much of a temper he had,' Hayley muttered under her breath, but of course everyone in the kitchen heard her, supernatural hearing and all.

'That's because you met him _after_ my dear darling bestie tamed the beast. He was a lot less paranoid and much more trusting under her influence.' Kol said, his tone serious but it had a humorous lilt to it that made me snort.

Nik's eyes snapped to mine, glaring at me, though it was nowhere near the volumes of yesterday. I held my hands up defensively, fighting a smirk, 'I didn't say anything.'

Nik rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't answer as he looked over to Elijah, 'is there an actual plan or not?'

'I assume the fact that the sacrifices have happened since the ritual last night means that Tunde is determined to complete his pentagram by nightfall, as he knows that we are familiar with his patterns, he won't waste any time. Therefore, Niklaus, you and I will pay a visit to Celeste. We have an advantage in the fact that she doesn't know that we are aware of the body she is possessing; perhaps we can extort some information from her. Hayley, Elena, Bekah and Kol you will remain here and Kimberly can go to the other location.' Elijah murmured, standing and tucking his chair underneath the table.

'You want her to go on her own? Just how powerful is this Tunde guy?' Elena asked, looking over to me in concern.

'This is necessary, Elena. I can handle myself and if he does come here you and Hayley have much better odds at not being sacrificed with two originals to back you up.' I explained, agreeing with Elijah's plan.

'While you proved how well you could handle yourself yesterday, love, I'm not sure you'll be a match for him if while he is so powerful.' Nik said, his expression blank as he regarded me, but I could sense his concern, which surprised me.

'Be careful, Nik. I was starting to believe you actually cared about me for a second there,' I joked, smiling and I saw a reluctant smile play on his lips as well, 'anyway, now that we have our positions, everyone to battle stations.'

I patted Nik's chest on my way out, but I was surprised when he grabbed my wrist and pulled my back to his chest, his breath on my neck making Goosebumps rise on my skin as he spoke.

'Be careful, love.' He murmured, only loud enough for me to hear, before he released my wrist and left the room with Elijah. I stared after him, for a moment, stunned into silence, before I walked out of the room myself, ignoring the cautious hope coming from the remaining people in the kitchen. I headed to the other location; an abandoned warehouse. A location I wasn't thrilled to be attending alone, but it was better for me to go alone as I was more indestructible than Elena and Hayley. That didn't stop the slither of fear from slithering down my spine though. When I reached the location, I realised that I was completely screwed, which if I hadn't been focused on overanalysing Nik's actions on my way here I would have realised sooner, but I didn't. As soon as I entered the eerie abandoned warehouse that reeked with danger I knew I was in trouble, but it was too late to turn back, though I was _definitely_ relieved that I had come alone at that point.

'I know you're here. I can sense you. It's rude to keep a lady waiting, you know,' I shouted out into the empty space, focusing my hearing as well as glancing around to catch any sight of him, but the cages piled with unknown objects was making that difficult. I heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind me and I whirled around without another thought, coming face to face with a grinning African man wearing a white suit, paired with a red and white bow tie.

'It is a pleasure to meet the newest member of the Original family. I am Papa Tunde, I assume you have already heard of me?' His head tilted to the side, the manic grin still playing on his lips, but what unnerved me the most was the way he was looking at me, like he was starving and I was his last meal. That's when I realised what he wanted; he was going to sacrifice _me._

'The name rings a vague bell… you aren't that famous magician, are you?' I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest as I mocked his clothing.

'You certainly have confidence, I'll give you that,' he laughed, but it was void of any humour. He took a deliberate step forward, closing the distance between us a little bit more, but I refused to show any kind of uneasiness and remained rooted to the spot.

'I just came to ask you nicely to stop with the sacrifices, seeing as I'm the one who's least likely to resort to brutal murder…' I trailed off, my tone one of irony.

'Ah yes, I am sure that Niklaus was happy to tell you about how he bested me. However, it was foolish of him to send you here all alone, you see, I am _much_ more powerful than I was back then, and seeing as I have already completed four points on my pentagram, I only need you to complete the fifth.' Tunde said, sounding extremely confident.

'Okay I'll take it you're not up for negotiations then,' I muttered shaking my head in mock disappointment before I looked over to him, my eyes narrowing threateningly, 'wait did you just say _four_ points?'

'Yes, I did. That was the first point I completed, the garden that Marcel is keeping under the compound was full of desiccating vampires just begging to be sacrificed, my dear.' He grinned smugly and I felt my heart drop to my stomach in dread; I was officially _fucked_ but I refused to let him know that.

'Well, regardless, you're an idiot if you think I'm going down without a fight.' I said, my tone emitting a confidence that I didn't feel.

'Oh, I'd expect nothing less, you are the most powerful creature on the planet after all,' he grinned, pulling out a knife that looked like it was fashioned out of bone from his suit jacket, 'that's why I bought this.'

'Wonderful,' I sighed, adopting a fighting stance, 'are you going to throw the first punch or what?'

Without another word he stepped forward, attempting to plunge the blade straight into my heart but I side stepped him easily, grabbing his free hand and twisting it behind his back. I used my leverage on his arm to flip him over, he landed on the concrete floor, a sickening crack coming from somewhere in his body. This didn't deter him, however, as I literally _heard_ the bones fuse back together and he stood again, wasting no time and charging at me full force. The blade sliced across my stomach, and I couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped my lips when it happened, I managed to take Nik's pain before he felt it, so the burning pain that was echoing throughout my body from just a _scratch_ was twice as excruciating as it should have been, but I still managed to move so that the blade didn't embed itself in my skin. Tunde laughed at my cry of agony, using my distraction to kick the back of my knee, resulting in me kneeling on the ground, just before he plunged the blade into my heart I made sure to focus on taking any pain it would cause Nik, but if it was going to go into my heart, I would be temporarily dead, so I wouldn't be able to do anything about it then. I only hoped that my temporary death would result in Nik being oblivious to the pain, that was my last thought as Tunde stood behind me, yanking my head back with a fistful of my hair before the blade pierced my chest.

Klaus' P.O.V.

'Well that was truly bloody pointless. All she told us was that she was going to make our family pay for our vendettas against her. Nothing we didn't already know.' I muttered, trying to control my anger until I could channel it into something useful.

'Whilst I agree with you, Niklaus, at least we are aware that Celeste has in fact returned. Now we can apply our focus in making sure that when she dies she stays dead.' Elijah murmured, his voice calm and composed, though his eyes were unfocused in a way that I recognised; he was already plotting, just as I should have been. But my mind was currently else where… on the woman that I was supposedly _meant_ for. So far Kimberly had been a conundrum to me. Yesterday I had attacked her and honestly words couldn't adhere to how much I regretted that. Waking up after the elders had taken over my mind and being told that I didn't recognise my mate had been hard for me to swallow and I had resorted to my defence mechanism; attack those who questioned me. When I had returned to the compound after last night's misadventures, I had gone to my room, or what I had _thought_ was my room, but I found it littered with things that definitely didn't belong to me. My clothes were strung across the floor, but so were _hers_ , my cologne, my leather necklaces everything that was mine was exactly as I remembered it when I had left the compound that morning, but now _she_ was _everywhere._ Her scent lingered in the air, on the pillows and the sheets. Books that I had never seen before perfume that I didn't recognise, hair clips on my nightstand. It showed how intimately our lives together must have been and I found myself in that moment desperately wanting to remember her. So that led me to my art room; if I was as enamoured with her as I was starting to believe I was then I knew exactly where I would find proof of our relationship. I opened the door softly, closing it behind me gently enough as to not emit any sound and then I flickered on the light. The paintings that were currently stood on the various easels around the room were ones I'd recognised; various expressions of the rage that stirred within me, rage that I attempted to remove from myself and place upon a canvas. So far I hadn't had any luck. I ignored those works of art and made my way over to my personal sketchbook, the sketchbook I _never_ allowed anyone access to. I opened it halfway, my breath leaving me with the picture I was faced with. It was her… and _me_. The passion present within the picture couldn't be denied as we stared at one another, our foreheads resting on one another's as a small smile played upon her lips, a smirk danced on mine. But the passion wasn't what made the air leave me… it was the _loving_ way that I was observing her, a look she was returning. I had never in all my centuries been on the receiving end of a look that sincere, that…pure. An angry growl escaped my lips as I realised what the ancestors had robbed me of, something I was sure my mother had been responsible for. She wanted to keep us apart, because of the strength we exuded when we were together and because she couldn't kill either of us she had erased my memories of Kimberly, knowing the paranoid and rage engulfed man that would greet her. In that moment I _swore_ I was going to get my memories back and I _was_ going to protect my mate with every fibre of my being.

'You're bleeding, Niklaus,' Elijah said, the worry in his tone snapping me out of my thoughts, I looked down and noticed blood seeping through the black shirt I was wearing, when I lifted it I noticed I had a long gash along my lower abdomen.

'Something's wrong,' I whispered, my mind going back to yesterday, remembering the way that my own chest had opened up in response to me plunging my fist into her own. Elijah took out his phone when it suddenly rang, eying my blood soaked shirt with even more alarm when the flow increased as a long thin slash opened up over my heart, though I had the same wound, it wasn't affecting me in the same way it would have been her; she would be temporarily dead at this point.

'Niklaus, we have a problem.' Elijah murmured; I noticed him sliding his phone back into his dark grey trench coat.

'What is it, brother?' I asked, idly wondering why the wounds weren't causing me any pain.

'Kimberly has not been answering her phone and Kol has discovered that the wretched garden Marcel was keeping in our basement is littered with twelve sacrificed vampires. Therefore we sent Kimberly into a death trap.' Elijah said, his voice tinted with concern.

'He's going to use her.' I said, suddenly finding it very difficult to swallow.

'It appears that way, yes. She is the most powerful being on the planet since she has been turned, so although this is typically a fatal process, because she is an original she can't die and is therefore an endless source of power. I presume now he has her and his pentagram is complete, he will be on route to us.' Elijah said, glancing down the busy streets of New Orleans, a thoughtful look on his face.

'I don't care about his power, Elijah. We need to get her back.' I said, making a move to do just that, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

'Whilst I do agree with you brother, I fear it may not be that simple. You will need someone to go with you and I don't know if two Originals, a vampire and a werewolf will be enough to take him down in his full capacity.' Elijah murmured, his voice calm though I knew he was anything but.

'If we break his link to her he won't be nearly as powerful. Facing him while he is still channelling her as well as the other sacrifices is suicide.' I told him, knowing it was true, 'you go back to the compound, and I'm going to grab Sophie, she's a witch so maybe she can help undo whatever Tunde has done to keep her in place.'

'Very well brother.' Elijah agreed, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze before pulling away and flashing to the compound. I myself wasted no time in flashing to Rousseau's, managing to convince Sophie to come with me by her own free will, before I flashed to the warehouse, every inch of my being determined to get back the girl that had managed to find something redeemable in the monster that was I, Klaus Mikaelson. I stopped at the entrance to the warehouse cautiously; I could smell blood, and it was a scent that I recognised, the memory of how was tugging at my brain but I just couldn't appear to grasp it. Once I was sure that the warehouse was empty, I opened the door, ignoring the aching sounds leaving the metal as I did.

'This is creepy,' Sophie whispered, following behind me and looking wildly around her, 'are you sure she's here?'

I opened my mouth to reply as I followed the smell of the blood, but my mouth snapped shut as I rounded a metallic cage overridden with old junk to find Kimberly laying in the middle of a triangle that seemed to be formed with salt. Her dark golden hair was stained with blood, as was her dress, her skin was a decaying grey and she had the same symbol the others had carved into her forehead. There was also a circle around the triangle and when I tried to get to her, I realised the purpose; a boundary spell.

'Make yourself useful and take down this boundary spell, would you?' I said, my words more of a demand than a question, and she knew it, which was probably why she stepped forward without further hesitation, walking around the circle, trying to enter it herself or search for any weak spots I didn't know.

'It's a convoluted spell… like a witches recipe. You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient, a mystical binding agent… I don't know volcanic ash, rock salt… anything up to and including eye of newt.' Sophie declared after she had lapped the circle once.

I kneeled down, observing the thick layer of salt that formed the circle, when an idea popped into my head and I turned to pitch it to Sophie, 'what about the blood of a witch?'

'That would work.' She admitted, albeit a little reluctantly.

'Would you be so kind?' I asked, a dangerous smirk on my face as I silently warned her of the consequences if she refused to comply.

'Sure.' Sophie answered after a long moment, stepping forward and offering me her wrist, I nodded in thanks before I bought my hybrid face forward, biting into her flesh allowing the blood to flow over the circular line. Once I was satisfied with the amount I offered her a gulp of my blood to heal her wound as I watched the blood and salt react with one another, bubbling as it travelled around the entire line, when it reached it's starting point a gust of wind blew, creating a line that was roughly five centimetres thick, breaking the boundary spell. I stepped over the now distorted line and walked over to her, lifting her into my arms, bridal style, carrying her back over the boundary. As soon as we left the warehouse, her skin started to gain some colour at a rate that even I was impressed by. I placed a kiss to her forehead, silently relieved that she was now safe before I turned to Sophie and gestured for her to follow. It was time to leave. Due to the fact that my hands were full and I had a witch that could only travel at a human pace, I was prevented from returning to the compound as I wished to; instead I walked gaining a few odd looks and even a few glares. But that was to be expected when I was carrying a girl that was practically drenched in blood and unconscious; I was surprised that I didn't get stopped by law enforcement as with the grey tinge her skin still had, I looked like I was carrying a corpse.

I was about to cross the road, thankfully only a few more blocks from Rousseau's, when a truck caught my eye. It took me a moment to realise why I recognised it, but then the memories of the road trip I had forced Stefan to take over the summer came to the forefront of my mind, but as quickly as that happened I was suddenly overtaken by another memory, a _powerful_ memory that wasn't to be ignored.

 _We had been driving for days and hadn't stopped for so much as a bathroom break. I had been surprised at the lack of complaint from my human passenger, as I knew how unbearable it could be to constantly have immortal beings as company who didn't need to use the bathroom or eat a steady diet, but she hadn't complained once._

 _Now the vampire on this trip was another matter entirely, though he never complained aloud, he brooded constantly, in a way that would have annoyed me if his desperate attempt to convince me that he didn't have any humanity left weren't so amusing. Said vampire was currently asleep on the back seat, his even breathing assuring that he wasn't pretending, the human on the trip however seemed to be bouncing with energy, something that made me smile and shake my head in amusement._

' _What's gotten you all energetic, love?' I asked her, my tone amused although I genuinely wanted to know the answer._

 _Her eyes moved to mine, shining with light, laughter and life, the headlights from cars passing by illuminating her face in an enticing way, 'I'm a night owl, which doesn't bode well for me, at least not on this trip, always up at the crack of dawn.' She grumbled, genuinely annoyed by that._

' _Yes that is most certainly not going to help you for the next ten years, love.' I chuckled, my eyes shining with mirth._

' _You know what I miss?' She mumbled, her tone suddenly taking on a serious lilt, in a way that made me wonder if she knew she was speaking aloud._

' _What's that, love?' I wondered, my eyes flicking between the road and her as I awaited her response, when I saw a blush tint her olive complexion it confirmed that she had spoken aloud by mistake._

' _The slumber parties me and Elena used to have in my room when the weather was like this,' she muttered after a long pause that made me wonder if she was going to answer me to begin with. She glanced out of the window, observing the harsh rain and galling winds that were currently disturbing the night sky, 'we'd both be afraid of the weather so we'd stay in my room, taking it in turns to pick Disney movies until we fell asleep.' She confessed, not looking me in the eye as if she was embarrassed by her confession._

' _What was your favourite?' I asked her, my voice soft._

' _Beauty and the Beast,' she answered automatically, though she laughed when she saw my crooked brow and ironic smirk, 'okay, don't run away with that one old man.'_

 _Her response made me chuckle before I asked her another question, 'why was it your favourite?'_

 _She considered it for a moment, I could tell that she was deliberating between giving me a funny answer or an honest one, she seemed to settle for the latter as she stared out of the window, 'I loved the whole story. The idea of Belle being an independent woman who wants more out of life and not being afraid to pursue it despite the way that everyone else in the village treats her. But the thing I love the most is Belle falling in love with the Beast. I always thought he deserved to be loved, he wasn't a bad person, he was just misunderstood and angry with the world because no one took their time to get to know him… they assumed that because he was a beast he was incapable of showing any humanity and if you ask me that is just complete and utter rubbish. He deserved love just like anyone else, and he got it just like he deserved.' She told me, her voice gaining more conviction the more she spoke; it was clear that this was something that she felt passionate about, and clearly not just because of a Disney movie. I stared at her, wondering how a woman so innocent, so compassionate and so beautiful hadn't already been swept off her feet, but at the same time I was grateful, incredibly so; I was going to make her mine. Because I was incredibly certain that I was falling in love with her, and I didn't know how to deal with that._

I gasped as the memory that had just overloaded my brain suddenly triggered even more, like a ripple effect…

' _Lady. Gentlemen_ _._ _Why so glum?' I murmured, amusement dripping into my tone as the blonde beauty dramatically dropped her head to the bar at the sound of my voice, clearly realizing who I was. Her friends however, were a little slower on the uptake, but after a moment their faces shone in recognition._

' _Klaus I presume,' Damon said._

' _In the flesh,' I smirked. My eyes moving over to the Kimberly Gilbert, the young woman who had captured my attention when I'd been in the history teacher's body._

' _Cut to the chase. What do you want?' She demanded annoyance and frustration dripping from her tone, but as soon as she met my eyes her whole body and her expression froze in place. I felt my smile become smug, as she seemed to be looking me up and down; her eyes alight with clear lust and attraction._

' _What was that, love? I asked, my smugness only growing when she didn't appear to hear me, and seeing as she was taking the opportunity to eye me up and down, I decided to do the same. She was wearing a royal blue tank top that molded to her body so closely that I was able to tell that she wasn't wearing a bra, her white and blue stripy shorts were made of a thin material similar to pajamas and I found myself amused that she had attended a bar in that attire. Her hair was long, trailing down to her waist, and was an enticing dark gold, the loose curls her hair fell in catching the light and reflecting the color in a tantalizing way. She had a flawless olive complexion that seemed to make her deep blue eyes stand out even more. Her legs were long, and I could tell from here, soft; I had to resist the urge to reach out and run my hand up her thigh, knowing that even for me that was too far. She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been in, downing the whisky in her glass before she looked in between the three men that were currently staring at her._

 _She frowned, 'what?'_

' _Did you not hear what I said, love? Or were you too busy checking me out?' I said, a crooked grin appearing on my face. I enjoyed watching her try not to react to my words, but her eyes were easy to read, she was as attracted to me as I was to her…_

 _I looked down to her, my heart thumping painfully in my chest, feeling almost remorseful as I observed the tears that wouldn't stop falling from her eyes. I opened his mouth, not sure what I was about to say, but I just felt the need to say something to ease the pain in her eyes, but all of a sudden there was a deadening crack. I looked down to my arms in astonishment as I watched my bones breaking, the shock quelling the pain for only a moment…_

' _Klaus, please,' she moaned, when my lips moved from her lips to her jaw, I smiled against her skin, pleased at how much she wanted me in that moment._

 _Deciding to bring her some relief, I reached down, my hand palming her core, and I groaned when I found out how much she wanted me. My thumb rubbed her clit, while one of my fingers went inside her, pumping softly; which I paired with sucking and nipping at her collarbone, causing her to fall apart in a matter of minutes. While the after shocks were running through her body, I lined myself up against her, before I pushed forward, filling her in one swift movement. I moaned at the feeling of being inside her, a sensation I wasn't sure I would ever get enough of. When I felt her dig her heels into my ass cheeks to urge me to move, I complied, an amused chuckle escaping my lips. I moved in and out of her swiftly, my hips meeting hers forcefully, in a way that I knew would leave her sore afterwards; a thought that made the wolf inside of me howl in victory as I marked her in some way. I stretched her thighs wider, giving myself more room and allowing me to move even deeper as I pounded into her. I could feel that she was about to break apart all over again and I kept my hands on her thighs, keeping them spread apart as I leaned forward and took one of her breasts into my mouth, biting down and breaking the skin. That was all it took for her to fall apart around me, her head thrown back as she screamed my name in a way that made the possessive part of me rejoice, while her orgasm traveled through her._

' _That's my girl,' I whispered into her ear, leaning to suck her ear lobe gently, enjoying the shudder that echoed throughout her body as I also reached my climax with a satisfied growl._

 _I held her close, almost hugging her as we waited for our breathing to go back to normal. When it finally did, I pulled back almost warily; my expression was guarded as I tried to grasp how to handle this situation. All of a sudden, she leaned forward, and softly kissed my cheek; I felt my closed off expression melt away at the gesture._

' _That was…' she started but she trailed off, seeming to be lost for words, which made a smug grin erupt on my face as I stepped forward, realigning her body with mine as I softly kissed her lips before pulling back._

' _Yes love yes it was…' I mimicked her by trailing off._

' _Better than I'd imagined my first time could ever be,' She admitted honestly._

 _I stared at her, shocked, as I tried to decipher if she was being truthful or not, when I realized she was, I felt my entire expression soften…_

 _The fact that she could empathise with me, Klaus Mikaelson the man who had killed her sister was unbelievable in itself. I had seen an example of her empathy just over an hour ago, when she'd allowed me into her mind to see her vision. I had been in denial and the slightest bit afraid that I wasn't going to be able to build my hybrid army, but she had taken it all away, allowing me to feel calm. If she really hated me, like she should, then she wouldn't care how I felt. While we made the journey here in the car and she had remained silent, I had been concerned for her; I was concerned that she was angry with me for disputing her vision, but when I felt my concern disappear as quickly as I'd felt it I had realised what she was doing. She was focused on me, making sure that I wasn't feeling anything other than the calming waves she kept aiming my way, and when I realised that I felt my heart squeeze reluctantly, as my soft spot for her grew even deeper. A soft spot that had been growing since I'd first laid eyes on her in the history teachers body; it had become massively deeper when she'd told me that I had been her first. I still couldn't believe that, I knew she had told me the truth, but she was exquisite and I found the idea of no one before me noticing that ludicrous…_

' _I'll be there in a minute, love.' I promised her before I hung up the phone. I flashed there immediately, attempting to get my rage under control; the fact that the youngest Salvatore was currently using my family as a source of blackmail did not sit well with me, but I needed to make sure that she was unharmed. When I arrived at the bridge mere moments later, I was relieved to see that she was physically all right, facing the water, her hands resting on the railing as she looked over. I heard her sob and felt my concern grow; though the relief I felt at her safety was still present. As soon as she met my gaze, she didn't hesitate; she threw her arms around my waist, hugging me hard and nuzzling into my chest, inhaling. I felt myself freeze for a brief moment in surprise at her forwardness, but I quickly regained myself, wrapping my arms around her waist, my palms flattening against her back, my thumbs moving back and forth comfortingly. I heard her breathing slow down to normal, and I was grateful for the calmness and security that seemed to wash over her. I didn't say a word, allowing her to hold me for as long as she needed…_

From there I brief flashes entered my mind, that seemed to trigger memories that had always been there; the image of her in the dress I had gifted her for my family ball; her tears of happiness and disbelief when I had proposed to her… _everything._ I had my memories back.

'Klaus? Are you alright? You've just been standing there with this vacant expression on your face for fifteen minutes.' Sophie's voice cut through the images in my brain, bringing me back to the present.

I looked over to her, 'I'm fine. Thank you for your blood, now run along the food in Rousseau's isn't going to make itself.' I smirked, ignoring her glare as she made the ten feet back to her place of work by herself, once she was inside I turned and flashed back to the plantation, walking straight upstairs to _our_ room and gently placing her on the bed. I changed her into some sleep shorts and a vest top, ridding her of the crusty bloody clothes she had been in before. Now all I had to do was wait, and wait I would.

 **There's chapter thirty five! Sorry I couldn't leave it a week in between chapters, I needed to resolve the issue of Klaus losing his memories, and I hope I did it in a satisfactory way. Let me know what you thought!**

 _ **MageVicky:**_ _ **I can't believe you answered every review I made! That's so embarrassing. But I appreciate it. Also, I don't really follow the originals, so I'm in the dark as to what's going to happen next! Will Davina come back to life? Will Esther? Again? Also, i can't believe Klaus forgot her! I hate Esther! That b***. Poor Kimmie. So sad.**_ **Don't be embarrassed! I answer all of my reviews, and I appreciate you leaving ones on so many chapters, it honestly means so much to me, so thank you (: And I guess you'll just have to wait and see (; I hope you liked this chapter too!**

 _ **Ovgsmesa: Well that's a twist I didn't see coming, and a bit of a cruel twist too. It makes sense that since they are both nigh invulnerable, it'd be their bond that is exploited but still cruel. I can't say that I like this chapter very much but the twist in itself is a very good one. Please don't let this "crack" between them last too long.**_ **I know, I agree and I hated writing it, but don't worry it's all been rectified; I just wanted to add in an unexpected twist with Kim not being pregnant yet there wasn't much for me to play around with. I hope you liked this chapter (:**

 _ **XxSunnaxX: WHY T.T thats so sad... but such a good idea XD great job:)**_ **Thank you lovely, and I know I was so emotional writing it, but it's all fixed now (: Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**

 _ **Mili: Damn wat a trip i hope she ignores him for the pain he caused her while he chases her after finding the photo book.**_ **I know right? A total roller coaster of emotions; I hope you liked this chapter (:**


	36. Resurrected Witches In New Orleans

Chapter Thirty Six

My eyes snapped open, my lungs demanding oxygen, causing me to gasp loudly. My mind was overrun with images of Tunde propelling his blade through my heart and I had the sudden urge to make sure everyone was okay, as I knew he would have gone after them once he had captured me. With that thought in mind I forced myself up, managing to get off the bed, though I stumbled and had to grip the bedpost for support.

'Easy love.' Nik murmured, his arm gently winding around my waist, supporting most of my weight as he gently led me back onto the bed, ignoring my protests.

'He's going to come for them,' I whispered, trying and failing to get out of his grip.

'He's gone, love.' Nik promised me, the sincerity in his voice making me pause.

'What do you mean gone?' I asked.

'He took off after the hold he had on you broke. Without your strength he was no match for three originals as well as a vampire and a werewolf' Nik explained, his hand entwining with mine, it felt so nice, so comforting that I didn't question it at first, but then I remembered that he had lost his memories.

'Did Elijah ask you to watch over me?' I wondered, not knowing if he would have cared about me being injured.

'No, love. After I got you out of the warehouse I bought you back here to recuperate.' His voice was soft, while his eyes shined with remorse.

'I don't understand.' I said, frowning in confusion; why would he come for me if he didn't even trust me anymore?

'When I found out that you had essentially walked into a trap, Elijah went back to the compound to face Tunde with everyone else and I got Sophie and came after you. Once we had got you out of there we started to walk back when a very familiar truck caught my eye.' He murmured, his free hand reaching up and brushing a curl behind my ear, a gesture that made me shiver and feel warm at the same time.

'Okay…' I trailed off, urging him to continue; I had no idea where he was going with this.

'A truck similar to the one you, me and Stefan travelled in over the summer.' Nik said, his confession making my heart skip a beat.

'You remember me being on that trip with you?' I asked.

'I do,' he grinned, 'the truck triggered the memory of me realising that I was in love with you, and with that everything else came back as well. Just like Sophie said.'

I stared at him for a moment, completely stunned, my eyes filled with tears, one escaping and trailing down my cheek. I couldn't believe that he had his memories back. A part of me couldn't believe that the witches had gone through that much trouble to rid him of his recollections of me only for him to get them back not twenty four hours later. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Nik gently caressing my face, his thumb wiping away the lone tear that had fallen, the gesture seemed to bring me out of my trance and I reached forward, my arms going around his neck as I hugged him close to me, inhaling his scent and finally feeling calm, relieved and _whole._

Nik chuckled, but it wasn't a sound of humour, it was one of _relief._ I realised then that he had been concerned over my reaction because of how he had reacted to me when he had awoken after the ancestors had taken over his mind. With that thought in mind I pulled back and lightly slapped his chest.

'That was for getting all pissy and territorial with me yesterday.' I told him smiling when he looked surprised at my lack of anger.

'I think I deserve far worse than that, love.' He replied, moving his eyes away from mine, but not before I saw them fill with remorse. I bought my hand to the side of his face, urging him to look up at me and when he did I placed a soft kiss to his lips, amplifying the comfort I was sending to him.

'No you don't,' I disagreed, 'the ancestors knew what they were doing; they knew how you would react to me. _Ester_ knew how you would react. I don't blame you.'

He opened his mouth, probably to disagree, but I slammed my lips to his. I poured everything I felt for him into it, the love and happiness that he was back, the only other assurance I could think to offer him. He responded in kind, his lips moving almost tentatively against mine as if he didn't think he deserved any kind of affection, but that disappeared when I bought my hands to caress either side of his face, deepening the kiss. I pulled away; he placed a soft kiss to my forehead before he forced me to lay back down, promising to return with blood. While he was gone I noticed that I couldn't hear anyone else in the house; the only heartbeats were Klaus' and my own. While the only other member of the family with a heartbeat was Hayley, everyone else usually made at least some noise to hint at where they were and sometimes what they were doing. But aside from Klaus' heartbeat and the sound of the fridge opening and closing in the kitchen, there was nothing, and it concerned me. I knew that Tunde hadn't killed any of them but I could feel that something was wrong.

'Where do you think you're going?' Nik demanded, his arm coming around my waist as I clutched to the third floor railing.

'Where is everyone, Nik? What's going on?' I asked, clasping his arms for support; his hands tightened on my waist and I knew if he weren't holding me at that moment I would have fallen.

'Come back to bed and drink up, love. I'll tell you everything.' He promised, trying to turn me back in the direction of the bedroom but as he did I caught sight of the courtyard on the ground floor. Tunde was lying, dead, in a circular symbol with other shapes distributed on either side. He was wearing the same white suit he had been wearing yesterday, a pool of blood around his head and a gash across his throat.

'What the hell?' I murmured, Nik followed my gaze and frowned in confusion at the sight before us. He shook his head and a long sigh left him as he reached for his phone in his back pocket, managing to lift me up with one hand, my legs winding around his waist in instinct. He walked us back into the bedroom, placed me onto the bed and handed me the blood bag he had somehow stored in his back pocket.

'Niklaus, I am rather busy.' Elijah answered, sounding rather pissed off in all honesty.

'Yes, brother I'm sure you are. I just thought you'd like to know Tunde is dead in our courtyard.' Nik replied, an ironic smile on his face that made me roll my eyes as I placed the now empty blood bag on the bedside table, feeling my strength return.

'If Celeste resurrected him she must have killed him when he fulfilled his purpose.' Elijah murmured, his voice calm though I knew he was probably anything but.

'Speaking of the witch… any news?' Nik asked, his hand rubbing back and forth over my right leg as if to remind himself that I was actually there.

'I haven't located Celeste yet, but I assure you I will. I do however; have some news that might bring interest to you and Kimberly. Is she awake yet?'

Nik's eyes met mine before he pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speakerphone.

'Hey Lijah.' I murmured.

'Ah, Kimberly. I'm glad you're alright.' Elijah responded, his voice genuine.

'What was the other news you had brother?' Nik interrupted, impatient.

'Well, Sophie's niece, Monique literally exploded from her grave this morning. Now seeing as Tunde is now dead, I'm assuming that it cannot be a coincidence.'

'Wait. If Tunde had to die for one of the girls to come back, that means that there are another three witches need to die so that the others can return.' I said, my tone hopeful.

'It appears that way, yes. But due to Tunde's desire for revenge against us, it can be assumed that the other witches strive for the same intention.' Elijah said, his voice almost drowned out by the voices around him.

'Well that narrows it down. I can't possibly think of any witches who may wish ill intentions to us.' Nik muttered sarcastically, making me snort in amusement, he mock glared at me and I held my hands up in surrender.

'Yes, Niklaus you are truly hilarious.' Elijah's voice was condescending, 'now if you'll excuse me I have matters to attend to.' With that, he hung up the phone.

'Okay, now what exactly have I missed?' I asked, my hand entwining with his, resting on my lap.

He started with yesterday; he had come to save me while Elijah, Bekah, Kol, Elena and Hayley had fought Tunde. He managed to desiccate Kol, Bekah and Elena whilst he was channelling my power. Hayley had been the first he went for and he knocked her out instantly and he had just been about to desiccate Elijah when Tunde suddenly lost his power, which would have been when Nik broke the link that Tunde was using to channel me. Elijah had compelled some passers by in the streets to enter the compound and feed the desiccated vampires in order to return their strength. When he had bought me home, Nik had suggested that Kol, Bekah and Finn take Hayley and Elena back to the plantation, as at the time Tunde had still been a threat, though it looked like they were going to stay there at least for another night as Hayley had invited the werewolves from the Bayou over, offering them the endless woods by the plantation as a place to transform with her as tonight was a full moon. Nik had said he was going to stay with me while Elijah was trying to find Celeste.

'I don't like the idea of Celeste being alone with Elijah, and I have a bad feeling about Bekah being at the plantation tonight.' I said, grabbing my phone after I located it on the bedside table before I dialled Finn's number.

'Kimberly?' Finn answered, sounding concerned, 'is everything alright?'

'Nik was just filling me in on you being at the plantation, I have a bad feeling about Bekah being there tonight. Could you please keep an eye on her?' I asked, trying to hide the panic from my voice.

'Of course.' He responded, saying goodbye before he hung up the phone.

'Why don't we just go out there and protect her ourselves?' Nik suggested.

'While I don't like Elijah dealing with Celeste on his own, we need to go to Cami, apparently the same witch who hexed her brother has returned from the dead to hex her uncle.' I said giving him a look.

'If this is one of the resurrected witches… why would she go after Father Kieran and not our family?' He wondered.

'No idea. But we need to go, and I need to call Marcel.' I said, making a move to walk to the door but Nik grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him.

'What do you need with Marcellus?' His eyes were hard, but not in a way that made me fear him.

'If one harvest girl has popped up after Tunde was killed, he has a right to know about the possibility of Davina coming back.' I told him.

He stared at me for a long moment, an unreadable look on his face and before I could focus on what he was feeling he responded, his voice low, 'he'll be somewhere in the city. When Davina died… I lifted his ban; I figured that losing his daughter was painful enough. He deserved to be able to come home.'

'You were right to do that, Nik.' I murmured, when I realised he was concerned that I would be angry at him for doing it, probably because I was the one who had been furious with him when he had led hundreds of his men into a battle they never could have won.

I informed Marcel of what was happening with Davina, and just as I was about to hang up he told us that Cami was now in the know of the supernatural world thanks to an encounter with a vampire that tried to feed from her. With that information in mind we made our way to the church not really sure of what we were going to find. I realised we when we walked in there, hand in hand, and father Kieran gave me an odd look that I was wearing pyjamas I didn't remember changing into. I just shrugged it off; there were more important things that I needed to focus on.

'Thank God you're here. Marcel told me about you and your family so if there's anyone who knows how to break a witches hex it has to be you guys right?' Cami said from her uncle's side, looking in between Klaus and me pleadingly.

'It's a witches hex, sweetheart, it's a little more complicated than that.' Klaus said, his voice petulant; I squeezed his hand in warning.

'Who did this to you exactly?' I asked, sending waves of comfort to father Kieran and Cami.

'It was a witch who used to live in New Orleans, her name was Bastianna. Marcel ordered her death after the massacre that happened at the church because she hexed my nephew, Shaun.' Father Kieran explained, causing Klaus and I to share a look.

'So there's nothing that can be done?' Cami said, sounding defeated.

'He didn't say that. Maybe we can try using compulsion?' I suggested.

'That could work. We'll just have to drain the vervain from your system first, mate.' Klaus told Father Kieran, they both went over to the stoup near the front of the church while Cami and I followed a few steps behind.

'If there's anything that can be done, Cami, I _promise_ you-,' I started but I was cut off when my phone began to ring from the pocket of my pyjama shorts. I fished it out, sending Cami an apologetic smile in the process.

'Marcel, to what do I owe the pleasure?' I said, answering the phone after I checked the caller I.D.

'I've got Sophie prepped and ready to locate the remaining three witches who Elijah's ex girlfriend resurrected. We get them, we get Davina back. Are you in?' Marcel asked, his tone begrudging.

Klaus and I shared a look, and when I was sure that he was happy to continue helping Cami and Father Kieran without me, only then did I respond to Marcel's offer.

'I'm in. Where are you?'

'The compound. You'd better hurry, Sophie's already chanting.' Marcel replied, and as if on command I could hear a female voice speaking in the background.

'You're leaving?' Cami asked, sounding concerned; when I sensed her fear over being left alone with Klaus I took it immediately.

'I am. Marcel has a lead on getting Davina back and Nik has got this. You don't have to be afraid of him, Cami. Not that I blame you if Marcel is the one who filled you in on the history of vampires. The two of them aren't exactly best friends anymore.' I said, squeezing her arm in comfort, sharing a charged look with Klaus, it was one filled with electricity, promise and things we didn't care to say in a room where in which we weren't alone. With that, I flashed back to the compound.

When I got there Sophie was standing over a map surrounded by what looked like ash, chanting but nothing was happening. Marcel was stood in front of her, his arms crossed in his brown leather jacket as he kept his eyes locked on the map, urging the ashes to move. Just behind Sophie was a younger girl; she was wearing a white flowy dress and eyes that looked like pure evil. I knew that it was Sophie's niece, Monique, but I had a feeling that the extra time she had spent with the ancestors had messed with her mind; I sensed hostility and an unquenchable desire for the ancestor's cause flowing from her. I knew that I wouldn't trust her before she had even opened her mouth.

'I can't do this, I'm not as strong as I like to think I am,' Sophie said after a while, sounding like she was close to giving up.

'Keep trying, okay? No deal if you don't find what we're looking for,' Marcel said, his voice ruthless but I could feel his desperation to get Davina back.

'Concentrate and trust yourself. You can do this.' I assured her, sending a comforting wave in her direction, prompting her to send a soft smile my way, which I returned, and a moment later her chanting continued. For a moment it looked like she was fighting a losing battle, as the ash failed to move once again, but I felt a wave of frustration come from Monique as she regarded her aunt with annoyance. A few seconds after I picked up on her emotions I noticed her lower lip trembling as if she was chanting at a volume not even my supernatural hearing could pick up; the ash started to move. We all waited for it to come to a stop anxiously, but when it did Marcel and I shared a look of confusion.

'It's only picked up one witch.' Marcel said, sounding close to throwing furniture against the wall to tamper his frustration.

'That's the only magic I could find.' Sophie said apologetically.

'Well, try again. We can't get leverage on Celeste if-' Marcel shouted but he was cut off when Nik suddenly appeared in the room, stood just to the side of Monique, as soon as he appeared, I knew what he was going to do and I moved to block him but he anticipated my move and wrapped his hand around the throat of the girl.

'On the contrary, I have all of the leverage I need.' Nik smirked and in a flash he was gone.

I grabbed the table and threw it against the wall, pissed. I got a bad vibe from the girl, but that didn't mean I wished her dead, which Nik was probably counting on the other witches wanting as well.

'I'm going after him.' Marcel stated, looking annoyed.

'No, we both are.' I declared, looking over to Sophie, 'stay here where it's safe.' I didn't stick around to hear her response as I focused on the pull that appeared whenever Klaus and I were separated and allowed it to lead me to him, Marcel following closely behind. We found him ranting and raving in the street, dragging Monique by her arm with one hand, while in the other he was holding Papa Tunde's blade.

'Bastianna I know you're here, come out and face me or I will kill your first resurrected harvest girl, but this time she will stay dead.' His tone was mocking and he had a dangerous smile playing on his lips.

'Nik, is there a particular reason for this or are you just feeling particularly murdery today?' I asked with a smirk; I knew he wasn't going to kill her so I refused to panic.

'It's quite simple really, love.' He said, his smirk remaining on his lips as he turned to fully face Marcel and I, 'the compulsion didn't work so I'm going to the source.'

'And the only way to do that is to threaten a sixteen year old girl?' I said, my head tilted to the side as I pretended to contemplate my own proposition, 'I _don't_ think so, Nik.'

'You're going to stand against me?' He demanded, his tone causing me to roll my eyes.

'Reign in your temper, big bad wolf, I'm saying we were in the middle of doing a spell to find one of the witches you're after. You don't need to do this, you're just being as impatient as ever.' I said, stepping closer and reaching out to remove his grip on Monique's arm, I didn't get that far however because he flashed himself and the girl out of my reach.

'Let me do this my way, love. Trust me it's been known to bring results.' He smirked, but there was something in his eyes that made me pause: fear. He thought that I was trying to stop him because I wouldn't love him if he hurt the girl, and him keeping hold of her was his act of defiance; he was trying to convince himself that he didn't need my love and affection if I were to act against him by putting a stop to this. Before I could assure him in the way that he needed in that moment, Marcel decided to pipe up and ruin everything.

'I have told you- we do _not_ hurt kids!' Marcel shouted, flashing forward and knocking Monique to the ground in order to get her out of Nik's hold. Marcel grabbed the hand that was holding the blade and managed to get Nik to release it as it fell to the floor with a clutter. I was just about to intervene, tired of boys and their need to show how big and strong they were, when I heard the sound of a neck cracking and saw Marcel fall to the floor, temporarily dead. Of course, in this commotion I hadn't been paying attention to the teenage girl, the blade or the other woman who approached behind Nik and me. When I did realise she was there, it was too late; Sophie plunged the blade into Nik's heart, embedding itself in Nik's chest. I took his pain instinctively as we both fell to the floor, side by side, and while the blade was not in my heart, I felt the pain of it twice over as well as the unfortunate _side effects,_ which I was thanking the mate bond for. I couldn't move, or speak and while Nik wasn't in any pain he was immobile as well, his eyes on me, clearly concerned before the darkness claimed us both. I swore I heard a woman speaking before I was completely out, but I was too far gone to make out what she was saying.

Third Person P.O.V. The Streets of New Orleans

Elijah was walking slowly and tactfully behind Celeste, recognising the mischievous glint in her eye, Elijah decided to find out what she was up to before he confronted her. He was so focused on following her, however, that he didn't notice that the area she had led them to was eerily silent.

'Are you going to follow me all night, Elijah?' Celeste asked, turning around to face the Original, her arms crossing over her chest and a smirk playing on her lips; him preoccupied was exactly what she needed.

'I am simply trying to identify your intentions. I assume you didn't resurrect three witches with no reason in mind.' Elijah replied, a hint of a smile on his own lips.

Celeste didn't offer an answer; instead she stepped forward, bringing her lips to Elijah's. He didn't pull away, feeling the old feelings he used to have for this very girl hundreds of years ago come to the surface. After a moment, she pulled away from him, her hands still resting on either side of his face, where they found themselves during their kiss.

'Oh, Elijah… my lost love,' she stepped back, and Elijah stared at her, a frown of concentration on his face as she continued, 'after all this time, don't you understand? I died because of Klaus.' As she spoke, Elijah started to feel particularly dizzy, to a point that he was struggling to focus on Celeste's words.

'And even after all his vindictive lies about witches that led to my death you stood by him, all because of your vow. Always and forever,' her tone was conniving and unforgiving.

'What have you done to me?' Elijah demanded.

'It's a simple enchantment,' Celeste smirked while Elijah struggled for breath, 'you needn't worry; I'm not here to kill you, Elijah. I'm here to show you the error of your ways; always and forever was the greatest mistake of your life.' She stopped speaking when Elijah fell to the floor.

'You poisoned me with a kiss.' Elijah stated at Celeste for a moment before his expression transformed into one of disbelief, 'at least you haven't lost your sense of irony.'

'We may have time for more.' Celeste smirked before she continued, 'but first I'm going to cure you of your greatest flaw. This absurd devotion to your lunatic family.'

'Your anger is with me, now if you have come here seeking revenge-,' Elijah started, his tone threatening, but he was interrupted by Celeste.

'Oh, I'll have my revenge, starting with Klaus- he is going to know pain and torment like he has never felt before, and seeing as his precious mate is so devoted to the monster, I figure it's only fair that she suffer for her wrongful choices as well. Unless you choose to save them, of course.' Celeste's smile became cruel and unwavering, making Elijah dread what more she could possibly have in store for his family, 'but then that leaves Rebekah, the tragic sister. She is about to find herself in quite the predicament. You could save her… but then that leaves Hayley in jeopardy…'

'No- no, no-,' Elijah muttered, a feeling of foreboding washing over him.

'Oh, the poor girl… she has no idea how dangerous it is to be loved by you.' Celeste observed Elijah's deteriorating state with obvious glee, 'oh well… with my body weakened by your spell you won't be able to save them all. You'll recover with just enough time to choose _one_.' Celeste held up her index finger as if to prove her point, before she continued, 'because I'm feeling generous and due to the fact that I have absolutely no use for her, if you choose to save Klaus, I'll allow you to save Kimberly as well. And don't think I am unaware of the two extra Original's at the plantation with Hayley and Rebekah; their presence won't make any difference. Elena is about to come down with a fever, leaving Kol to be her knight in shining armour and Finn is about to receive a call from that precious girlfriend living out of town.'

'The only question left is… who will it be?' Celeste held up her index finger to her lips in silent pondering before she continued, 'I can't wait to find out.'

With those departing words, she walked away, leaving Elijah temporarily unconscious in the middle of the street.

Elijah awoke some time later, to the sound of his phone ringing, with a gasp he sat up, answering his phone with memories of Celeste still lingering in his mind.

'Hayley?' Elijah said into the phone, his tone confused; it was a full moon she shouldn't be in any position to call anyone.

'Elijah, something's wrong; the rest of my pack has transformed but for some reason I haven't been able to.' Hayley's voice was one of concern.

In that moment Elijah knew that it had to have been Celeste; she must have cast a spell to delay Hayley's transformation, as she would be more vulnerable without her pack.

'Hayley, listen to me, I need you to find Kol or Rebekah or Finn-,' Elijah started, but Hayley cut him off.

'Finn had to leave; Elizabeth was having a family emergency. Elena passed out and Kol was getting nervous around the werewolves so Kol is looking after her at the compound and Rebekah went off with one of the humans that runs with my pack. I don't know where anyone is.'

'Hayley, listen to me, you need to get out of that house.' Elijah stated, keeping his voice calm to avoid worrying her, but in that moment he knew that anything he would say now wouldn't make any difference; he was going to have to choose.

'Elijah, I can't the doors won't open,' she stopped speaking and the sound of crashing could be heard in the background, 'the windows won't break… what is going on?'

Before Elijah could answer the line cut off, but not before the sounds of the smoke alarm going off could be heard, along with Hayley's scream. Without another thought, Elijah flashed to the plantation, breaking through the window that housed the room Hayley was in once he got there. He scooped her up into his arms, and in another flash they were in front of the house, Hayley struggling to get air into her lungs, while Elijah checked her over for any visible injuries. After he was sure she was alright, they both went back to the plantation, where Elijah found Marcel rallying up vampires in search for his brother and his mate.

'Marcel!' Elijah shouted, flashing in front of Hayley to pin Marcel to the wall by his throat, 'where are my brother and sister?'

'I don't know, I've got guys out looking for them now, alright?' Marcel huffed, not liking the current position he was in. Elijah didn't like his answer and he made it known by throwing one of Marcel's guys up against the wall.

'I don't know, alright? Klaus had one of his temper tantrums and tried to face a coven of witches on his own, Kim tried to calm him down but she couldn't, I ended up getting my neck snapped and when I woke up they were both gone.'

Elijah stared at him for a long moment, when he decided he was in fact being honest; he let his hand fall from his throat, lowering him to the ground.

'They also have Rebekah.' Elijah said, watching for any kind of reaction from Marcel, when he saw his genuine shock he dismissed him as having anything to do with what had happened, 'All of you search this town from top to bottom for my brother and sisters. I don't care how long it takes.'

With that all of the vampires in the room scattered, not wanting to get on the wrong side of the Original vampire.

What Elijah missed was Marcel's brief flicker of realisation as he put the pieces together; he knew exactly what a particular witch was going to want with Klaus and Rebekah, which meant one thing: Klaus was going to be _furious_ when he found out.

 **That's chapter Thirty Six for you! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought :)**

 **A huge thank you to lalalandmaniac, imwiththeband69, venushareddy62, ArcumLupus, necromancer and Arianna Le Fay for choosing to either favourite or follow my story- it means a lot! :)**

 _ **XxSunnaxX:**_ _ **Love it! Can't wait til she wakes up :) Hopefully shy wouldn't forget Klaus now ;) :D**_ **I'm glad you liked it and I hope you enjoyed this one too, lovely :)**

 _ **Mili: Amazeballs!**_ **I'm glad you think so ;)**

 _ **Ovgsmesa: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! That really didn't last very long at all. And again thank you! I am curious as to what Celeste is gonna be doing now that she's back, because I think this story has taken a different path compare to the TV show. I can't wait. XD**_ **You're welcome, I just couldn't bring myself to keep them apart for too long :) And things might move a little differently soon, but as for now I'm gonna be sticking pretty close to the original story line :)**

 _ **MageVicky: Omg he got his memories back! That's great! I'm so happy! Take that, Esther! Kim is going to be so happy when she wakes up! But, was the guy able to use her as a sacrifice even though she can't die? That seems odd.**_ **I'm glad you liked it :) And he was able to desiccate her and continually channel her power because she has the power of an Original; if she had been an ordinary vampire it would have killed her :)**

 _ **BeccaSco: awww I loved it! Poor Kim.**_ **I know, writing C34 broke my heart :(**


	37. Necessary Measures

Chapter Thirty Seven

If I had any control over any part of my body, I would have been screaming at the excruciating pain echoing from my chest, the ripples cascading to attack every inch of my being. I considered myself to have a high pain threshold, but the blade that was currently embedded within Nik's chest was unbearable; it was as if my heart was being burned, scorched, slowly enough to allow it to heal before the process was repeated again, the fire from the burning travelling though my veins as well as centrally in my chest. It didn't help that I was taking Nik's pain as well; I wondered if the pain would be more bearable if I was just dealing with my own deriving from the mate bond, but I wasn't willing to find out. Instead I was stuck, my eyes unseeing as I was staring at the withered ceiling of the building that two red headed witches had carried us both to with magic.

'Rebekah is still unconscious. Are you able to do this on your own?' I heard Celeste say to the witch with long red hair.

'Absolutely. I have been waiting for this for almost a century. I plan to enjoy implementing my revenge.' The red head answered, the excitement pouring from her, I could feel her eyes on me as she continued, 'though I am unsure of how she will come into play.'

'Ahh, yes… the big bad Original Hybrid found himself a mate. Turning her against Rebekah as well as Klaus will work in your favour. If you fail to do so then I assure you that Kimberly Mikaelson will be the only one with a chance to quell his rage.' Celeste replied, standing over me and smiling maliciously; if I were able to move I would have smacked that grin off her face, she seemed to sense my annoyance and laughed, aware I was incapacitated.

'I will do as I wish with her, Celeste. You assured me that I could implement my revenge however _I_ saw fit and my methods do not involve _her._ ' The redhead replied, her voice seemingly cool and collected, though I could sense her jealousy from here and it made my own possessive instincts flare up, but of course there was nothing I could do about it in that moment.

'Very well, Genevieve. I'll leave you to your work.' I heard the floorboards creek as she moved away, but she paused, probably glancing back to the red head in the room before she continued, 'I wouldn't leave her unbounded if I were you. She's more powerful than she looks.' With that she left, Genevieve didn't make a sound until the door below us creaked shut, easily heard even to human ears with how deserted the house appeared to be.

She seemed to ignore Celeste's warnings, which would be her own fault when she removed the dagger from Nik, who I could sense mere feet away from me, though I could not see him. I heard his soft breath as he gasped through the incapacitation; though I was able to take his pain from the dagger imbedded in his heart, there was something rather… _terrifying_ about being paralysed and yet aware of the world around you. Genevieve's heels clicked on the floor as she made her way over to him, the desire she felt for my mate was cascading from her, adding to my hatred for the witch by the second.

'Aw, you poor thing. Let me help you out with that.' She whispered, I wondered what she was going to do when I felt my chest opening up as she sliced open his clavicle with a blade, before plunging her hand into the would and retrieving Tunde's weapon. I felt my back arch as the weight that had been on my chest suddenly lifted, allowing me to fill my lungs with oxygen. Once I had I immediately shot up, wiping the sweat from my forehead, cringing at the dizziness that overloaded me due to my sudden movements.

'Careful, sweetheart. From what I understand you're twice as weak as Klaus due to your selfless nature.' Genevieve said, her cold eyes surveying me with disdain.

'What that bloody hell are you up to exactly?' I asked her, not bothering to try and attack her despite my lack of restraints; she was right about my weakened state and any attempt to overpower her would be a waste of the strength I needed to gather.

'Actually, I have a story for the both of you, one that you're _both_ going to want to hear.' Genevieve looked in between the both of us as she spoke and I had no doubt in my mind that whatever she wanted to reveal about Rebekah was going to be damaging.

I rolled my eyes at her attempt to lure my interest, Nik however was interested, though a little apprehensive; whatever she had to say would need to be good for his loyalty to his sister wouldn't diminish easily. My issue was that I could _feel_ that whatever it was would lead to just that; the separation of our family. I was going to do everything I could to prevent that from happening.

'Go on then, tell us the story that will turn us against our sister.' Nik smirked, if his hands had been free I was sure they would have been extended in a challenging manner, 'though I should warn you, many before us have tried and failed to turn us against each other the past thousand years, so odds are your plan won't work.'

I wasn't so sure that he was right, and Genevieve didn't look the slightest bit affected by his poorly concealed threat.

'Drink this, it will help your wounds heal and return some of your strength.' Genevieve said, offering me a small circular bowl carved from stone before she held an identical one to Nik's lips, as his hands were bound. I could sense that she wasn't lying and I knew that whatever was in the bowl had other means in her plan, but I was just so weak and hungry that I couldn't resist the bloody mixture, and neither could Nik as we both took a sip at the same time. Though we both immediately regretted it as our mouths burned from the venom that was laced within; she clamped her hand over Nik's mouth, and clamped mine shut with magic, a hand directed to me as she forced us to swallow the concoction.

'Your sister had an unfortunate run in with some werewolves last night, I imagine that is the venom encircling her bloodstream that you are currently tasting.' She explained, releasing her hold on both of us once we stopped struggling as the blood worked its way down our throats.

I could feel my strength returning, and I focused my senses, managing to pinpoint where Rebekah was in the house quickly. I knew it wouldn't be long before I could seek her out and get her away from here; she was my priority at that moment as it was her future that bought a sense of foreboding over me, not Nik's.

'Let's start at the beginning, shall we?' She stood in-between two of the restrictive chairs Nik and I were on, holding a hand over each of our heads as she cast us to a different time.

 _The first thing I registered was the music; it was loud, lively and vibrant; I recognised the compound, dressed up in banners welcoming home a soldier of war. Present Nik and I were stood by the gates, taking in the whole scene._

' _This is 1919, the first time we came to New Orleans and made ourselves a home here.' Nik murmured, his hand enlaced within mine, I could feel his unease as to what Rebekah could have done and I moved my thumb back and forth over the back of his hand as a gesture of comfort, which seemed to help him relax a little._

' _It's beautiful.' I told him, and I meant it; the twenty first century couldn't compare to the liveliness in the room … this was something else all together._

 _Before Nik could reply, the music grew louder before it cut off all together, 1919 Klaus walking forward to the soldier dressed in army green, his arms spread wide as he embraced him, a huge grin on his face._

' _Marcellus, our war hero, welcome home!' Nik shouted, delighted; the crowd cheered and rose a glass in the pairs direction before the music continued once more and everyone returned to dancing._

' _You sure know how to throw a party.' Marcel commented, seeming genuinely happy to be home._

' _Only the best for you, my son.' Nik's smiled, grabbing two glasses filled with an amber liquid from the passing waitress as he walked to the bar, Marcel following behind him._

' _Now that you're back perhaps you can help us settle an argument,' Nik said, noticing Elijah was already stood at the bar, 'there's this witch, he waltzed right in here and started throwing around demands that we needed to settle a truce with him and the witches of New Orleans. Elijah thinks negotiations are in order. I think we should tear off his head.'_

' _Marcellus has seen first hand the atrocities that can derive from war, and the fatalities that negotiations can prevent. Surly, Marcellus would agree with me.' Elijah murmured, his voice calm and collected as he sipped from his drink._

' _What's the guy's name?' Marcel asked, avoiding siding with either of them for the time being._

' _Papa Tunde.' Nik answered, 'he's a philanthropist.'_

 _Elijah straightened from the bar, his gaze interested in whoever had just walked through the gates, when I turned I saw Tunde walking in, two twin teenagers following behind him, each with an asterisk mark carved in their foreheads._

' _It looks like Marcellus will have the opportunity to decide for himself.' Elijah commented, making his way to the gates._

' _You invited him here?' Marcel sounded surprised, but I understood the reasoning immediately; he wanted to make him comfortable enough to allow him to learn his weaknesses._

' _Of course.' Nik smirked, following closely behind Elijah, overtaking him and holding his arms out in a welcoming gesture towards Tunde, 'welcome to our home, while you are here, I hope you'll accept whatever we can offer to you as our form of hospitality.'_

 _Nik gestured for a waitress to come over as he spoke, taking a glass from her and handing it to Tunde, a tantalising smirk on his face. Everyone seemed to hold their breath for a moment as they eyed Tunde, cautious of what his next move would be; he took the black top hat from his head and then his coat, handing the hat to one twin and the coat to the other. He took the drink from Nik and grinned, everyone seeming to exhale in relief simultaneously._

' _Party before business then, eh?' Tunde mused, his grin growing when Nik patted him good-naturedly on the back._

'What motives do you have for reminding us of Papa Tunde?' Nik asked as we were pulled from the memory.

'Rebekah is remembering what happened, and it all started with him coming to New Orleans. Don't worry the best is yet to come.' Genevieve assured him, not casting me a glance; her infatuation with him was clear and it was making me nervous. She paused for a moment, seeming to deliberate something before she left the room without a word, I assumed to check on Rebekah, as soon as she was gone I stood and stumbled over to Nik.

'You're still weak, love,' he murmured, his tone laced with concern, I tried to wave him off but he tilted his head to the side, inviting me to feed from him.

'You're weak too Nik,' I protested, trying and failing to free him from the restraints.

'She's probably spelled them so that only she can remove them, love. And I am no where near as weak as you, now drink and get Rebekah out of here.' He told me, his tone leaving no room for argument and with a sigh I complied, moving my face to his neck and allowing my quadbrid face to come forward before I gently bit into his neck. He tasted exquisite, just as he always did; my hand came to caress the side of his face as I drank. I had to force myself to pull away after a few gulps, reminding myself that he was weak as well. Once I removed my face from his neck I bit into my wrist and offered him my blood; he refused to drink more than a mouthful.

'I'll be back.' I promised him, placing a kiss to his forehead; I knew that she wasn't going to hurt him otherwise I wouldn't have left until I'd ripped her head off, but I knew that him remaining behind and keeping her distracted was my best shot at getting Bekah out of here.

'I know love, now go,' he urged me.

With one last glance at him, I flashed away stopping in an empty room further down the hall, focusing my hearing. I could hear Genevieve and Bekah talking somewhere on the floor below.

'Please, Genevieve, I'm begging you, don't do this to me.' Bekah pleaded, I wanted to flash to her but I knew that I needed to wait until she was alone.

'It's too late, you have done this to yourself, and I suffered for your mistake. Now it's time you paid.' Genevieve's voice was harsh and void of any sympathy; I heard a crash and I sensed Rebekah's temporary death, before I heard the clicking of Genevieve's heels as she made her way back to the room that she had been keeping Nik and I in.

'Where is she?' She asked Nik, her voice harsh.

'Where's who? I wasn't aware there was anyone else in the room, sweetheart.' I could practically hear his taunting smirk.

'No matter, she'll fall into the hallucinations as you do, Nik, I can assure you she won't get very far.' Genevieve taunted and I flashed down stairs, managing to find the room where Bekah was laying desiccated on what looked like an old operating theatre; this place must have been an old hospital. When I say old I mean _old;_ the walls and floors were grey, peeling and falling apart. The windows seemed to be intact for the most part but other than that all that remained was old equipment; operating tables, beds, and chairs fitted with straps to restrain patients. It was all very eerie and I found myself fighting back a shiver as I made my way over to Bekah. Before I could do anything, however, I was once again being thrown into another hallucination.

 _The compound was quiet compared to the liveliness that had been present before; though it was clear that this was the end of another of Nik's parties. There were banners, ribbons and glitter strewn on the floor, and a few people still littered around, some were cleaners and others were guests who apparently weren't ready to leave just yet. Bekah's familiar figure caught my eye, the white beads sewn on her dress flapping gently from side to side as she walked to the bar, but stopped short upon seeing Marcel sat on a table by the gates, looking glum. She hesitated for a moment, deliberating, before she made her way to the empty seat across from him._

' _Why are you so depressed? Nik killed the witch I thought you'd be celebrating.' Bekah said, genuinely hating to see him so upset._

' _I'm the one who bought Tunde to town.' Marcel replied bluntly._

' _What?' Rebekah gasped._

' _I thought if he came to town he could force your brother to leave so that we could finally be together.' He admitted, seeming a little nervous over her reaction but it was clear that he didn't regret his actions._

' _You would risk the wrath of my brother by trying to tear our family apart just to receive a hint of affection from me?' Bekah said, she sounded affronted but I knew that his admission meant a lot to her, and she continued when he nodded in answer to her question, 'my brother has killed a thousand Tunde's and has not once been remotely afraid. There has only ever been one man that has truly scared my brother and that man is our father. If you want to get him to leave, find Mikael.'_

The hallucination faded from one to another almost immediately.

 _The setting was of another party, but this one wasn't at the compound but at a bar. People were tightly piled in, but they didn't seem to mind, the live band was playing what sounded like jazz music; people were split between talking amongst their groups, listening to the music and attempting to get the attention of the barman who looked severely stressed._

 _Bekah was walking forward, once again wearing a white beaded dress, and a laced headband holding back her short blonde hair. She had a drink that she was holding in front of her as she led two other girls to an empty table against the wall near the entrance to the bar. I recognised one of them as Genevieve; she looked exactly the same as she did now, except her hair was contorted into the same hairstyle as Bekah's. As soon as I looked at the other woman with them I just knew that it was Celeste; I wondered how many bodies she had actually inhabited as she left the two girls at the table, heading to the bar._

' _So are there any special guys in your life?' Bekah asked, her eyebrows raising suggestively, making Genevieve blush._

' _No, not at the moment.' She answered, taking a sip of her drink as she avoided Rebekah's gaze._

' _You know, I think you'd be good for my brother, Elijah. He's very noble and incredibly handsome just like all of the Mikaelson's.' Bekah winked._

' _Elijah certainly is handsome, but if I had to choose one Mikaelson, it wouldn't be him.' Genevieve admitted, her eyes lingering somewhere over my shoulder and when I turned I came face to face with 1919 Klaus, laughing with Elijah at the far side of the room._

' _Klaus?' Bekah seemed shocked, 'well if you're into bad boys then you'd love my brother Kol.'_

' _Kol? I didn't know you had any other brothers.' Genevieve seemed surprised._

' _It's complicated, they've been away for some time now.' Bekah paused, hesitating before she pushed herself to continue, 'I've actually been meaning to get in touch with someone that we've fallen out of contact with over the years. I was wondering if you could help me?'_

' _Of course, do you want me to find your brother Kol?' She asked after she had taken a sip of her drink._

' _No, actually I was hoping you could help me find my father, Mikael. It would have to be just between the two of us, of course, my brothers mustn't know, I want it to be a surprise.' Bekah said, the creases by her eyes giving away her hesitancy over asking Genevieve to do this, but the witch didn't seem to notice._

' _Of course, I'd be happy to help.' Genevieve held up her glass, clinking it against Bekah's before they both drained the remaining liquid._

My eyes snapped open and I stood up from the floor, having no idea how I had got there. I didn't need to focus my hearing to hear Nik's shouts of rage from the floor above.

'Me and my sister have had our quarrels over the centuries but she would have never summoned my father!'

'Your loyalty towards her is admirable, really. But when I'm finished there will be no doubt in your mind.' Genevieve assured him.

I bit into my wrist and held it to Bekah's lips, urging her to continue when she started to come around, 'drink up, you need your strength.'

She drank a few gulps and sat up, the werewolf bites on her body healing much to my surprise.

'You're Nik's mate, your blood mirrors his. It makes sense that you can also cure a werewolf bite.' Bekah murmured, sitting up on the table, her legs dangling from the side.

'Whatever, that's not important- Genevieve is up there right now showing Nik your memories of 1919, she wants to convince him that you were the one that summoned Mikael.' I already knew the truth, but I wanted to give her a chance to prove me wrong; I desperately _wanted_ to be wrong.

'Kimmie-,' She stopped when I held up my hand not needing to hear any more.

'Mikael, really Bekah? Nik was _terrified_ of that monster, why would you do this to him?' I asked, trying to control my own rage.

'He wouldn't let me be happy. I know that you love him; Kimmie and you accept him for who he is but that's easy for you to do because he is the one who makes you happy. He wouldn't let me find love, he constantly killed those who I even glanced at, all I wanted was to be in love and he wouldn't let me. So I summoned Mikael, I just wanted him to run and not look back, but of course that wasn't how it worked out.' Bekah explained, her voice began pleading but by the end her tone was one of misery.

'Now that you're healed from the venom that should stop the hallucinations but your mind is still linked to mine and Nik's so whatever you do, try not to remember what happened any more than you already have.' I muttered taking her hand and leading her from the room. I had almost reached the front door when Bekah pulled me to a stop, I looked over to her my eyebrow rose in question.

'I already tried to get away once. There's a boundary spell around the hospital. It won't fall until she's through with us.' Bekah explained.

I rolled my eyes, the information only adding to my frustration, 'alright then, you wait here, I'm going to go and rip off her head.' I released her hand and went to flash upstairs but she yanked me to a stop.

'I wouldn't. She will be able to take you down easily with the ancestors behind her.' Bekah said.

'Well then what do you propose we do?' I snapped, throwing my hands up in frustration.

'I need to remember-,' Bekah started but I cut her off.

'No, Bekah, Nik thinks she's lying if he sees anymore then he'll know the truth and he'll want you dead.' I told her, gripping her upper arms as I tried to get her to understand.

'I know, Kimmie, but it's the only way; Nik's too weak to over power her and she'll be on her guard with you free as well as me and will easily take us down. Once I've remembered, the boundary spell will drop and I can get out of here before she unleashes him.'

I didn't like it, but I also didn't see a better plan, so with a sigh I nodded for her to go ahead. I walked backwards, my back meeting the wall as I slid down, my knees to my chest and my head resting against the wall and closed my eyes, prepared to be shot back into the past.

 _The setting this time was New Orleans's cemetery, which I didn't like; the last time I had been here Nik had turned on me and Davina had been killed, but I forced those memories down as I turned my attention to Marcel and Bekah; they were stood just behind Genevieve who was on her knees, stroking a flame with a blade, chanting. I noticed present Nik standing with Genevieve opposite me on the other side of them and I heard their conversation as they spoke._

' _What do you see?' Genevieve asked._

' _My father's blade. It went missing centuries ago; he beat me for hours thinking that I had stolen it. Bekah was so nice to me the weeks after; I should have known she was the perpetrator. She always did hate women being forbidden to wield a blade.' Nik said, his tone carefully controlled though I could sense his fury; he was starting to believe._

 _Past Genevieve placed the blade on the raised part of stone that sat in front of the grave and turned around, holding out her hand for something. I noticed that it was a newspaper clipping, I picture of Bekah stood in between Nik and Elijah, an arm linked with each of theirs, all of them smiling at whatever they were watching. It looked as if they were in an opera house and that was confirmed when I saw the headline:_ **Hundreds show up to the New Orleans's Opera House Opening.** _Genevieve crumpled up the paper and held it over the flame, allowing it to catch fire before she set it on top of the blade, chanting quietly. The paper suddenly disappeared in a small gust of wind, once it had Genevieve opened her eyes and smiled, turning to face Bekah and Marcel._

' _It is done.' She said._

I was thrown from one memory to another.

' _Take it back are you mad?' Genevieve exclaimed. She was stood in what must have been the same hospital we were currently trapped in, except this hospital was much more up kept; Bekah and Genevieve were in a room that held dead bodies, an incarcerator just behind the red head as she stood facing Bekah._

' _Please, I summoned Mikael for my own selfish gains. Nik will never forgive me if he finds out, he's finally happy, we are finally happy, please don't make it so I am the one to ruin it.' Bekah pleaded, sounding close to tears._

' _You used me.' Genevieve realised, 'you used me to bring someone here that your brother is terrified of. When he finds out he will kill me.'_

' _You and me both. So please, undo it for both of our sakes.' Bekah pleaded._

' _That cannot be done, it is too late. The only option is to go to your brother, tell him what we have done and hope he forgives us.' Genevieve said, sounding as if she would not be persuaded to another path._

' _No! No! If you do that I will end up in a box for another century.' Bekah sounded panicked as she glanced around, she noticed a bloody handkerchief in the front pocket of Genevieve's pale blue uniform and took it, holding it in front of her mouth, forcing her to inhale the deadly germs, 'I'm sorry, love. But if Nik finds out, you're dead either way.'_

 _The door suddenly opened and Celeste's 1919 body walked through the door, looking concerned._

' _What is going on here?' She asked, noticing the blood that was now coating Genevieve's lips, her eyes were sheened over as she realised what this meant for her. Before Celeste could do anything more, Rebekah flashed forward and applied the same treatment, forcing them into an empty room and compelling two doctors to keep them in the room until they died._

I gasped as my eyes snapped open, but before I could utter a word, Bekah and I froze in fear from what we heard above us.

'REBEKAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH' Nik bellowed, and I flinched when I felt how _furious_ he was.

'You need to leave. _Now.'_ I told her, grabbing her wrist and throwing her towards the door, she opened it and went to leave but the boundary spell was still up, and we didn't have the time to wait for it to come down; Nik was coming and he was coming _fast_.

I held my index finger up to my lips, indicating for her to be quiet as I pulled her along the corridor, having no idea where I was going; I was focused on where Nik was and purposely going in the opposite direction.

'You can't keep her away from me forever, love. You forget I can sense you as well, all I have to do is follow you.' Nik shouted, closing the distance between us, I pointed ahead of me, silently telling Rebekah that she needed to move on her own, fear shone in her eyes but she did as I asked.

'I don't know what you mean, Nik. I haven't been able to find her.' I shouted back, focusing on Bekah and Nik, purposely leading him away from her, glad when he seemed to follow.

'Love, if you continue to keep her from me, I will hold you to the same level of betrayal.' Nik promised, and I knew he meant it.

'Just calm down for a minute for Christ sakes. You're over reacting.' I shouted, knowing that would piss him off; I was hoping to make his anger for me greater than his current anger for Bekah.

'Overreacting? I will punish you accordingly for that, love.' Nik said, his voice laced with venom.

'When you calm down, you're going to regret whatever you do out of anger.' I said, my tone pleading; he was getting closer to me, his rage adding to his strength.

'Love, let me assure you, I won't regret a thing.' His voice came from behind me; I turned, holding back a wince when I saw the fury on his face. I noticed he was holding Tunde's blade and when he saw I wasn't with Bekah his glare intensified before he flashed away, in the direction that Bekah was actually in; I assumed he was following her scent now.

'Bekah, you can run, sister but you cannot hide.' He shouted, his pace seeming to have slowed to a walk now; he was enjoying the chase.

Once I located Bekah I flashed to her, finding her in the basement, the creaky steps giving us away, when she noticed me I saw the complete defeat on her face and I moved to her side, my hand squeezing hers in a gesture of comfort. We stood united waiting to face the angry hybrid on our trail.

We weren't kept waiting long, Nik's heavy foot steps coming to the doorway, pausing for a moment before he traipsed down the steps, a smirk on his face.

'Given up on running have you?' Nik smirked, twirling Tunde's blade tauntingly around in his hands.

'Well I know how much you enjoy the chase.' Rebekah said, her tone snarky, but I could feel just how terrified she was.

'Well, you may have taken away that enjoyment but I can assure you, sister, I will much _enjoy_ inserting this blade into your heart.' Nik murmured, a dangerous smile on his face.

'Well maybe if you knew how much pain that blade actually inflicted you would reconsider.' I muttered, placing my body in front of Rebekah's my hands holding onto her arms to keep her in place.

'That is true, while I have never felt the torment the blade inflicts first hand, I am assured that it will be tremendously horrific.' Nik grinned, avoiding my eye.

'Put down the blade, Nik, or I _will_ take it from you.' I warned him, my voice low and threatening.

'Careful, love, you wouldn't want to challenge me now, would you?' He stepped forward, trying to intimidate me I assumed, but I refused to appear so.

'I will challenge you because I love you Nik, and trust me when I say that acting on your anger right now is something that you will regret.' My tone was pleading.

His eyes stared intently into mine, and for a glorious moment I saw his vulnerability, his desire to do as I asked, but it was gone as quick as it appeared, his jaw clenching and his expression hardening as his rage came over him once again. I wanted to take it from him, but I knew that would only make matters worse; he knew when I was messing with his emotions and I didn't want to risk his rage growing more than it already had. He stepped forward, now no more than an inch from me, I heard Bekah hold her breath, not knowing what he was going to do, but I had a pretty good idea. He placed his blade free hand gently on my shoulder, forcing his expression to soften into a defeated mask, but I wasn't fooled. I placed my hand on top of his, offering him a small, disappointed smile as I twisted his hand until I heard the bone of his wrist snap in half, using the leverage on his hand to push him away with enough force that a Nik shaped hole was created in the cement wall he landed through behind him.

'Remind me to never mess with you.' Rebekah muttered, sounding vaguely impressed from her position just behind me.

'Tell me that _after_ I get the blade from him.' I replied, shifting myself into fighting stance as I waited for him to get up; he didn't keep me waiting long, he appeared in the hole, his body covered in debris while his expression was one of thunder, except this time his anger was directed at me.

'Come on, Nik. Take your best shot.' I smirked, gesturing for him to make the next move, but he didn't, when I focused on his feelings, I knew why.

'I do not wish to hurt you, love. Despite your best efforts to intercept my ire from Rebekah, my quarrel is with her. Not you.' He said, his words sincere and his expression apprehensive.

'I'm not letting you hurt her, Nik. Can you not just trust me when I tell you that you will regret it instantly? All you are doing is playing into the witch's hands! Why can't you see that? She wants to divide this family and quite frankly she deserves to get her head ripped off.' I said, exasperated that he couldn't see what I could see as clear as day; Celeste wanted revenge on Elijah and dividing the family he had worked for a thousand years to keep together would be the way to do just that, while Genevieve wanted revenge on Rebekah because she took her life.

'Perhaps you are right, love but I just can't bear this. She has done what no other has managed to do in a thousand years.' He said, his expression suddenly one of sadness, a lone tear trailing down his cheek as his gaze moved to Bekah's over my shoulder, 'she ripped my heart out.'

'Nik, please. I did what I did because I wanted to be happy and you kept taking it away from me, any _flicker_ of happiness I found you snuffed it out. You wouldn't let me find love, so yes I took matters into my own hands and called our father, but I regretted it instantly and I tried to reverse it. But I couldn't. I never wanted it to end the way it did-,' Bekah said, and I didn't need to turn around to know that tears were trailing down her cheeks.

'No, you wanted me _dead_.' Nik insisted, interrupting Bekah's explanation.

'No I didn't, Nik I swear it. I would never wish that.' Bekah said, and I believed her.

'Liar! Admit it! Admit it!' He had stepped so far forward that my back was pressed against Bekah's chest and Nik's chest was pressed against mine, my body being the only thing separating them.

'No I will not admit it, because it is _not_ true!' Bekah shouted back.

Nik laughed, it was a manic sound that made me grip Bekah's arms tighter as I prepared for what was to come; it was only then that I noticed that he wasn't holding Tunde's blade anymore, but what he pulled out from his inside coat pocket was much worse.

'Why the _hell_ do you have _that?'_ I demanded, taking a step back and inevitably forcing Bekah to do the same.

'Well, when the witches started popping up out of their graves I thought it best to not leave it lying around, insurance and all.' He smirked, walking casually forward as if he _wasn't_ holding the indestructible white oak stake that his mother had crafted when she turned Alaric Saltzman into an indestructible vampire hunter.

'Have you lost your mind? You mean to _kill_ me?' Bekah asked, astounded but I could feel her fear; she didn't know how far her brother was willing to go in that moment.

'I can't think of a more suitable punishment if I'm honest sister.' Nik murmured casually, twirling the stake around as if he were inspecting an ornament before purchase.

'Please, Nik. Put. It. Down.' I begged, not knowing how far he was going to go either; his emotions seemed to be all over the place; one moment it was as if I was getting through to him and then the next his rage took over again.

'I don't think I will, love.' He smiled.

'The blade was one thing but now you mean to _murder_ your sister? Do not become Mikael, Nik. You are better than him and you know that. _I_ know that.' I murmured, resisting the urge to touch him, knowing it wouldn't end well.

'I am _nothing_ like Mikael. He hunted us, tortured us for _years._ You see, I will not hunt Rebekah, I will end it fast- just a sharp pain in the chest and then it'll be lights out.' He smiled, his tone casual as if he was discussing the weather forecast.

'Okay then, never mind the crippling, _blinding_ regret that will overcome you the moment that stake pierces your sisters heart. How about the eternity of being alone that will follow?' I said, my words seemed to break through to him as a glimmer of fear shone in his eyes, and it encouraged me to continue forward, 'because I can assure you, if you kill Rebekah I will not stand beside you for killing my sister, and I am positive that none of your other siblings will either.'

'Those who go against me must be punished.' He said, but his tone lacked conviction that was audible to my ears.

'Believe me when I say Rebekah has been punishing herself over this for the past century. She does love you and she was telling the truth when she said she didn't wish you harm. Don't let your paranoia break this family Nik, trust me, _please._ ' I pleaded, hesitantly stepping forward, my hand going to the stake and gently prying it from his hand. His eyes shone with regret, tears fell from his cheeks as his mouth hung open as if he was trying to form a sentence but couldn't quite find the words.

'It appears my presence is not needed.' Elijah's voice suddenly called out from the top of the staircase, observing the whole scene, surprise written on his face, but he managed to catch the stake I threw to him, his eyes widening slightly as he realised how far Nik was going to go.

'I'd suggest hiding that in the same place you're keeping the daggers.' I said, gesturing for Elijah and Bekah to leave and they did, traipsing up the creaky staircase, Bekah's arm linking through Elijah's. I turned to Nik when they were gone, one arm wrapping around his shoulders while the other went around his neck, holding him tightly to me. He didn't respond for a moment, seemingly surprised by my actions, but after a while a long sigh escaped him, and with it went the rest of his anger as he wound his arms around my waist, holding me tightly to him.

'How can you even stand to be near me right now?' He whispered, his voice laced with shame.

'Nik, how many times do I have to tell you,' I said, pulling back, both of my hands going to either side of his face, gently forcing him to meet my gaze, 'I _love_ you and I accept you for who you are. I always will. As for Rebekah, I understood where your anger was coming from and while it was completely justified, your actions weren't. You have to trust me to reign you in when you go too far.' My thumbs moved back and forth comfortingly over his cheeks, his stubble scraping me gently.

His hands came to rest on my wrists as he stared at me, his gaze more vulnerable than I had ever seen it; I could tell that he wanted to trust me, and once again his mouth was struggling to find the words, but after a deep breath he seemed to get there.

'I do trust you, love.' He murmured, and I knew that he meant it.

'I believe you.' I smiled, leaning forward and connecting my lips to his, our lips moving together gently; his mouth on mine was like the most pleasant electric shock I had ever experienced. The sparks travelled through me, as if awakening my body; it was if he bought me to life and it baffled me that this was the way it felt every single time. I was about to deepen the kiss when I heard Elijah and Rebekah talking upstairs.

'What do you mean we're trapped here?' Rebekah cried.

'Celeste placed a boundary spell around the premises. Originals can get in but they cannot leave.' Elijah explained, sounding and feeling calm.

Nik and I shared a look before we flashed upstairs, finding Elijah and Rebekah each sat on one of the old, surprisingly still pristine white, hospital beds.

'So we have a boundary spell courtesy of Celeste? She shouldn't have.' I muttered sarcastically, my arm around Nik's waist, his arm reciprocating the gesture. Nik chuckled, considerably more relaxed than he had been not five minutes before; I felt Elijah and Bekah's surprise and apprehension. They had never seen Nik calm down this fast before and I knew they were worried it was a trick, which was fair, but I knew there was nothing to worry about, which I told them by sending a wave of calm towards them both. This seemed to snap them out of their trance as Elijah answered and Bekah lay back on the bed, thoroughly exhausted.

'Yes, I assume she was planning on Niklaus' rage being great and she wanted to make sure Rebekah had no escape from his ire.' Elijah explained, straightening his tie as he leaned back on the bed.

'Wonderful. I assume our disappearance isn't the only thing that has happened the past twenty four hours?' Nik guessed, pulling me down onto one of the beds; our backs leaned against the headboard, my legs settled over his as I curled into his chest; his hands rested on my waist keeping me in place.

'Quite right, brother. Celeste was nothing if not thorough.' Elijah murmured, picking at an invisible piece of lint on his right thigh as he continued, 'I was told that I could only save one, you and Kimberly, Rebekah or Hayley. She managed to distract Finn and Kol as well as disrupt Hayley from changing into a werewolf so that Hayley was completely and utterly vulnerable when the plantation caught on fire.'

'Bitch.' Bekah and I muttered at the same time.

'I never liked her.' Bekah commented, not bothering to open her eyes as she spoke.

'Well, I assure you as of now she is completely dead. I had Monique cast a spell to guarantee that when she tried to body jump again she would instead come back and be stuck in her true form. At which point I tore her heart from her chest.' Elijah's voice was calm as usual, but I could feel the small amount of sadness he felt over what he had done.

'I'm sorry. You loved her once, that can't have been easy.' I murmured, sending a wave of comfort in his direction.

He didn't answer, but he didn't need to.

'So how long are we going to be bloody stuck here for anyway?' Bekah sighed.

'Until the sun rises tomorrow morning, so at least nine hours.' Elijah answered, seeming unfazed by this information.

'For fuck's sake.' I sighed; the small amount of blood that I had taken from Nik earlier had been enough to sustain me for a little while but now my hunger was back stronger than ever, and I knew Bekah and Nik were feeling the same way.

'I already called Hayley to bring supplies, while you two were still in the basement.' Elijah assured us and we all released collective sighs of relief.

'Fabulous.' I felt my eyes drooping, exhaustion setting in, but before I could slip into unconsciousness my vision suddenly disappeared and I felt myself stiffen; I hadn't had a vision for a while so I was a little unfamiliar with the process.

'Love?' Nik asked, concerned when he felt my stiffening posture, I just grabbed on of his hands on my waist and bought it to the side of my face, allowing him into my mind.

 _Genevieve was stood in the same shop that Sabine used to run, before her body was taken over by Celeste. It was a voodoo shop and if the inch thick layer of dust on every flat surface was anything to go by, it hadn't been opened since Sabine died. The red head had tears streaming down her cheeks as she stood behind the counter; Nik and I were stood by the front door, observing her closely. I jumped when she suddenly threw everything that was lying on the counter; glass jars, pens, knickknacks and what looked like salt to the floor where it landed with a thud._

' _What's wrong with her?' I wondered, moving closer to the spell book she had produced from beneath the counter; she was flipping ferociously through the pages until she suddenly stopped on a spell. I looked at the page, but it was written in a language I couldn't understand, but thankfully Nik seemed to as he read it over my shoulder, while Genevieve began to chant._

' _It's a spell to test for pregnancy.' Nik murmured, his voice sounding confused as he continued, 'she's modified it so that no form of magic can interfere with the diagnosis.'_

' _What does that mean?' I asked, not understanding._

' _If a witch were to cloak her baby to prevent others from finding out, this spell would render that magic void.' He explained._

' _What witch would she care about being pregnant?' I wondered, before Nik could make a suggestion Genevieve suddenly stopped chanting, gasping._

 _Seeming more composed, she calmly wiped away the tears that had stained her cheeks and lit a candle with a long match that she pulled from underneath the counter._

' _P-please don't make me do this. It's just a tiny baby, a tiny_ innocent _baby. Don't make me a murderer.' She whimpered, tears streaming down her face and I felt my blood run cold as I saw her tears turn into blood, which she noticed fairly quickly, 'no-no-no! I'll do it, I promise, just don't kill me. I will kill the baby of Kimberly and Klaus Mikaelson, you have my word.' With that the blood stopped pouring from her eyes and she stood, and we saw her clearing away her supplies before we were yanked back to the present._

'What the bloody hell was that?' I cried, jumping from the bed feeling panicked. Pregnant? No, there was no way! Was there?

'I think it was abundantly clear, love.' Nik muttered sarcastically, coming to stand in front of me, his strides cautious and slow; I assumed he could sense how much I was freaking out.

'Nah, she must have been on about a different Kimberly and Klaus Mikaelson, that's the only explanation.' I said, struggling to get air into my lungs with how much I was hyperventilating.

'What the bloody hell is wrong with her?' Bekah asked, her and Elijah observing me with worried glances from behind Nik.

'She had a vision-,' Nik started, placing his hands on my upper arms and rubbing up and down soothingly.

'We gathered that much, Niklaus. What did she see?' Elijah asked.

'We saw Genevieve casting a spell to reveal Kimberly's pregnancy before she promised the ancestors that she was going to come after our child.' Nik explained, completely calm and I found myself wondering why I was the one freaking out.

'Pregnancy?' Bekah exclaimed, her jaw dropping open in disbelief, she turned to Elijah who looked calm but I could feel his shock.

'It's not true. I can't be pregnant- that book said it was supposed to be _rare_ we haven't been together for a year yet. I'm telling you! Lies.' I muttered, my voice borderline hysterical.

'Kimberly, you need to calm down-,' Elijah started placing a hand on my shoulder but before he could finish his sentence Bekah cut him off.

'Shush, all of you!' she shouted and we all looked to her, confused, ' _listen.'_

I heard everyone, including myself, collectively hold our breath as we listened out, wondering what Bekah had heard. I was about to ask her outright when I realised what she was talking about. A heartbeat. One that wasn't Nik's or mine; this one was fainter, softer, and it was coming from _my_ stomach. I felt my doubt trickle away with the sound but at the same time I couldn't believe it. I was going to be a mother. Nik was going to be a father. I felt the tears that had formed in my eyes spill over; falling silently down my cheeks as my hand involuntarily went to my stomach.

'I'm pregnant.' I said, not completely comprehending what that meant, but as my doubt started to fade away, Nik's seemed to grow.

'No, this has to be some kind of trick. The ancestors have to be behind this. Those witches have been nothing more than a pain in the neck since we consecrated Ester here.' He shouted, pacing back and forth, running his hands through his curls.

'I'm pregnant.' I said again lamely.

'This definitely isn't happening! I am not ready to be a father! The only father figure I know is Mikael and we all know how parental he was!' Nik shouted his voice starting to sound hysterical.

'They're both freaking out.' Bekah said sounding worried.

'Pregnant. There is a child inside my stomach.' I said, my breathing becoming sporadic.

'What if I'm just as bad as he was? I probably will be, parenting is learned behaviour.' Nik stated, waving his hands around manically, as he continued to pace while I remained glued to the spot.

'Excellent observation sister.' Elijah stated dryly.

'What do we do?' Bekah asked, her brow furrowing in concern as she glanced in between Nik and me, 'they need to snap out of it.'

'Yes. Well you take Kimberly and I will take Niklaus.' Elijah said, sending his sister an encouraging nod, but otherwise he didn't give her time to respond before he stepped in front of Klaus, halting his pacing.

'Kimmie?' Bekah's soft voice snapped me out of my thoughtful gaze and drew my attention from the crashes animating from behind her where Nik and Elijah were fighting.

'Yes, Bekah?' I said, trying to calm myself down but I knew it was pointless. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of me being a mother; my own mother, Miranda Gilbert had been incredible. She was kind, considerate, empathetic and supportive but I wasn't her. What if I screwed up? What if the baby grew up to resent me? To hate me? What if-.

'Okay you need to stop overthinking this!' Bekah shouted after she slapped me across the face, my head snapping to the side and my cheek stinging from the sensation. My gaze moved back to hers, shocked, confused but most of all _pissed._

'What was that for?' I demanded.

'You were having a panic attack; the pain snapped you out of it. Consider yourself welcome.' Bekah sassed, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an amused brow.

'Lay another hand on her sister, and we may have to revisit that white oak stake.' Nik threatened as he appeared beside me, but he too looked much more calm. I could still sense his panic, as I was sure he could sense mine, but for now we both had it under control.

'Now, back to this vision you had… when do you think it's going to happen?' Bekah asked, trying to change the subject.

My hand entwined with Nik's as she spoke and I frowned, trying to recall some- any- information that would give us a good time frame.

'What if it wasn't the future at all? What if it was happening as we saw it?' Nik said, I could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he thought it over.

'In the vision she was doing a spell to render protection magic void and when we came out of it we could hear the baby's heartbeat.' I realised; Klaus was right.

'She removed the baby's protection, though I wouldn't mind knowing how it got there in the first place, or how she knew it would be there.' Nik muttered, his hands drawing around my waist as he pulled my back to his chest.

'It most likely has something to do with Kimberly's other abilities.' Elijah said, noting our confused stares before he elaborated, 'I started to do some research into empaths and prophets before the harvest ritual happened and distracted us all. It occurred to me that we had done plentiful research into what you being mates means, but we didn't consider the extent of Kimberly's gifts.'

'What did you find out?' I asked, curious.

'Both empaths and prophets do not gather their gifts from bloodlines; they are chosen those who possessed the gifts before them. Upon their deathbed, they are to decide whom they will give their power to. Which means that both a prophet and an empath chose to give their gifts to you.' Elijah started.

'Well that's incredibly interesting, did you find out anything about supernatural pregnancies?' Bekah asked, sounding impatient.

'Actually, yes. When either of the species is with child, it is not uncommon for them to go the full term without them knowing they are even pregnant, for their powers cloak the baby without the mother's consent from conception.' Elijah said, and we all stood silent for a moment just taking that information in.

'But now-,' I started but was cut off by Nik.

'Genevieve has broken that protection with that spell, not only leaving the baby vulnerable, but confirming the pregnancy. Now the ancestors go and from the looks of that vision they want our baby dead.' Nik stated, sounding furious.

'We need to figure out a plan.' I said, my voice determined as I felt my protective instincts flare up inside of me, I may not have fully accepted it yet, but _none_ was going to hurt our baby.

'Excellent idea sister.' Elijah commended me, glancing around at everyone after he spoke, noting we all wore calculating expressions.

'We need to think about this logically. Ester is behind this and we can assume that going after the baby won't be her only motivation, seeing as any other time she pops up she wants us all dead.' I muttered, annoyed.

'What are you saying?' Nik asked, his hands tightening slightly around my waist as he sensed my dread.

'We're going to have to split up.' I said sadly.

'What? Why?' Bekah demanded.

'It will be harder for her to eliminate you all if you aren't all in the same place and now is the perfect opportunity; Genevieve was sure that Nik was going to kill you, Bekah. So convincing her that Nik banished you wont be hard to do, just like it wont be suspicious to explain Kol and Finn leaving because they were tired of their brother's temper. The three of you will have to scatter in completely different directions though, get cloaking spells and-,' I was cut off by Elijah, who didn't seem to like the sound of what I was saying.

'To what end?' He asked quietly.

'Until Ester is removed from the ancestors and isn't a threat to all of you, or the baby, anymore.' I answered, my eyes spilling over with tears, 'I don't like this anymore than you do, Elijah. But it's the best way. The last time you were all together she linked you as one and tried to sacrifice you. If three of the five are in different continents it will make it a little harder for her to do, especially if you're all cloaked.'

'She's right, Elijah, as much as it pains me to say it.' Bekah said, tears flowing freely down her cheeks now.

'If we are to make this believable we can't tell the others.' Elijah said, smiling sadly, 'their anger and betrayal needs to be genuine. They will flee just as they need to, Kol will take Elena and Finn will probably take Elizabeth and go somewhere far away from here.'

'What if they don't forgive us for this?' I wondered aloud, though I knew that deep down, they would.

'Once we have New Orleans safe once again, love, we'll tell them everything and they will forgive us once they know our motivations for doing what we did.' Nik said, and I understood the double meaning to his words.

'We can't tell them about the baby, can we?' My eyes glazed over as a sad smile took over my lips; Nik kissed my temple and that helped squelch the shuddering pain in my gut a little.

'If they know about the baby then they will stay regardless of me banishing Bekah.' Nik answered, and I knew he was right, they would stay and I could _feel_ how unsafe that was for them all.

'What if they hear the heartbeat just as we did?' Bekah asked, sniffling.

'We only heard it because we were listening for it. They won't be.' Elijah stated.

'Well, our performance is going to have to be pretty damn convincing.' I muttered, turning in Nik's arms, my hands going around his waist as my face rested in the crook of his neck as I inhaled his scent.

'We can do this, love.' Nik assured me.

We were going to have to think this out pretty damn carefully down to every last detail. Hayley arrived ten minutes later and as soon as we heard her approaching Elijah flashed to the front door to stop her from coming in while Bekah and Nik started throwing furniture around and half heartedly shouting at each other, convincing Hayley that they were at each other's throats. I chipped in every so often, telling Nik to calm down or telling Bekah to duck. Elijah ushered her away fairly quickly after assuring him that he could protect himself and that he wouldn't let Nik get too out of control. Once she was out of hearing distance, Nik and Bekah stopped immediately, their now calm behaviour contrasting heavily with their fake rage that had been present moments before. Elijah returned to the room with a duffel bag which a sight which caused me to immediately leap to my feet, holding my hand out for a blood bag or _ten_. Once I had a few I went to the closest bed sitting at the bottom of the bed with my legs crossed, drinking happily. Nik, Bekah and Elijah helped themselves to the blood supply as well; after our hunger was sedated we all managed to squeeze onto one bed. Nik and I were now laying horizontally at the bottom, me practically on top of Nik, my face resting in the crook of his neck, while Elijah and Bekah were lying vertically side by side at the top of the bed, thankfully the bed was long enough that their feet weren't in mine and Nik's faces. We all lay there in comfortable silence until we drifted off to sleep, relishing in the calm before the storm that was sure to come heavy and hard tomorrow.

 **There's chapter thirty seven! I know a lot happens in this one, but I was aware that I was unable to put up a chapter last week so I decided to combine two this week to make it up to you! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

 **A huge thank you to:** **WheeljacksGirl, indy's girl, moonkey2790, Nermeeennn, Mep101 for choosing to either follow or favorite my story! It means a lot :)**

 _ **guadadominguez4: GOOD FIC :)**_ **Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!**


	38. Goodbye For Now

Chapter Thirty Eight

I frowned at the sunlight hitting my eyes, at first I thought that was the perpetrator behind waking me up but then I felt the twanging in my stomach, a feeling I hadn't felt in a _long_ time. I shot up on the hospital bed, flashing away down the corridor, almost crying with relief when I located a bathroom. That relief, however, quickly dissipated as I quickly kneeled in front of one of the toilets, throwing up the blood I had consumed last night. I had forgotten how much I hated vomiting, but as my body shook with dry heaves and my whole body became covered in a thin veil of sweat, I vividly remembered why.

I groaned when I felt my stomach churning once more, Nik joined me in the bathroom just in time to see my head disappear into the toilet again. He didn't say a word; he simply crouched down beside me, one hand holding back my hair and the other gently rubbing my back, a gesture that I was grateful for in that moment. I had felt his concern when he had originally stepped into the bathroom, but when I was still vomiting twenty minutes later and showing no signs of stopping, I felt him start to panic.

'Elijah! Bekah!' He shouted, never ceasing rubbing my back, I tried to tell him that I was fine, it was probably morning sickness, but the heaves didn't let up enough to allow me to form a word never mind a sentence.

I felt Bekah and Elijah join us in the bathroom, their panic growing when they saw just how much blood I was throwing up, but I wasn't surprised; I had consumed more than any of them last night.

'What's happening? How long has she been like this?' Bekah asked, crouching down the other side of me, her hand going to my lower back.

'Almost thirty minutes.' Nik answered, his voice close to hysterical.

I sent a comforting wave to them all to let them know I was fine, I knew Nik was about to berate me for wasting my strength but Elijah spoke before he could, picking up on what my signal had meant.

'This is probably to do with the pregnancy, Niklaus. As you said, Genevieve cast a spell rendering the protective magic on the baby void, perhaps it means that Kimberly is no longer protected from the symptoms either.' He said, sounding calm as he always did but it seemed to allow him to get through to Nik.

I pointed to Elijah to indicate that I agreed with him, Nik must have still looked unsure because Bekah added onto Elijah's revelation.

'Morning sickness is symptom of pregnancy, and seeing as you still aren't showing and you're throwing up it means she's still in the first trimester. Hopefully she's near the end of it because this is just brutal.' She murmured, her voice soft.

'You can say that again.' I muttered, leaning back into Nik's chest, his arms winding around my waist; I was pretty sure I was done now seeing as I didn't physically have anything else inside of me to bring up, 'I forgot how much throwing up sucked balls.'

No one found my remark amusing and I opened my eyes to see the varying degrees of concern on everyone's expression.

'I'm fine you guys, honestly.' I assured them, the comforting waves I was sending toward them as I spoke helping to calm them down, 'I'm actually a little hungry.' I said and I felt my eyes flash amber as the veins grew underneath my eye lids, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, when I opened them again I was back in control.

'I'm not surprised with all that you've just thrown up.' Nik muttered shaking his head in relief that I seemed to be fine.

Elijah flashed away and came back handing me a blood bag, which I accepted gratefully but I had taken no more than a few gulps when I felt the twanging in my stomach again. Apparently this blood wasn't good enough for the baby, though there weren't any quarrels last night.

'What is happening?' Nik demanded, losing his temper and feeling helpless over something he couldn't control.

'I don't know. Elijah?' Bekah asked.

'I-I'm not sure the empathetic and prophet pregnancies I've seen haven't included any that were part vampire.' He answered, sounding at a loss.

I wiped the sweat from my brow when my stomach had once again calmed down, 'I don't think the baby likes the blood. Which does not bode well for me.'

'We'll figure it out, love. For now let's get out of here.' Nik murmured, placing a kiss to my temple that seemed to relax my whole body completely.

'Okay.' I agreed, allowing him to pull me up from the floor, 'are we ready to commence the plan?'

'Love you don't look like you could stand on your own at the moment, never mind-' Nik argued, lifting me into his arms as he spoke, but he stopped abruptly as I cut him off.

'It doesn't matter, Nik. You know we need to do this.' I told him, my hand gently caressing the side of his face, I wanted to kiss him but I figured he'd be grossed out seeing as he'd just watched me throw up for almost an hour.

'She's right, Niklaus.' Elijah agreed, while I struggled in Nik's arms trying to get free; I couldn't go home in his arms if I was supposed to be mad at him, which I would be if he had banished Bekah.

'I'm fine.' I told him as I finally got my feet to the floor, but as I took a step my face almost met the ground, luckily Nik caught me in time.

'I'll carry her, it'll give us time to say our goodbyes.' Bekah offered, picking me up bridal style.

'Ah, my knight in shining armour comes to my rescue once again,' I joked, grinning when Bekah struggled to fight a smile as I referenced her interference in a fight between me and her brother back in Mystic Falls; it seemed so long ago.

'We'll meet you at the compound. Don't forget the plan.' Bekah said, allowing Nik to place a kiss on my forehead before she flashed us away, the soft breeze feeling wonderful against my face. When we stopped I opened my eyes, noticing she had bought me straight up to mine and Nik's room, she gently put me down and I stared at her for a long moment, tears forming in my eyes before I abruptly threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly.

'I wish it didn't have to be like this, Bekah.' I whispered.

'Me too, Kimmie. But it won't be forever.' She promised, speaking only loud enough for me to hear.

'You're going to be the best auntie.' I told her, as I pulled back, smiling when she grinned, tears in her eyes.

'I can't wait to meet my niece or nephew,' she said, gently placing a hand on my stomach.

'Part of me still can't believe it.' I admitted.

'Of course you can't; you've just had this sprung on you out of the blue. I'd be worried if you had accepted it straight away no questions asked.' Bekah said, smiling kindly.

We heard footsteps entering the plantation and we shared a look as well as a final hug; it was time to get this over with.

'Rebekah!' Klaus yelled, fake rage present in his voice that stirred the other occupants of the house just as he wanted, 'I will find you, _sister.'_

Bekah and I rolled our eyes before we walked out of the room, Bekah's hand in mine, discretely supporting my weight until we reached the balcony at which point she released my hand.

'Well I'm right here.' Bekah said, smirking as she riled up Nik even more, or that is how it appeared to Elena, Kol, Finn and Hayley as they came out of their bedrooms, hanging over the balcony below us as they assessed the situation.

'Nik, calm down. You gave her until noon to say her good byes. She has another two hours.' I said, managing to make myself sound as if I were close to losing my temper.

'She's right Niklaus. We will take our leave until then.' Elijah told Nik, taking his forearm and moving to drag a furious looking Nik out of the compound but before he could, Kol spoke up from the balcony below Bekah and me.

'What's going on?' He asked.

'Bekah summoned Mikael in 1919 to come and kill me so that she could be with her _precious_ Marcel.' Nik sneered.

'Is that true, sister?' Finn asked, leaning over the balcony below so that he could look up to us.

Bekah took a deep breath, tears falling down her cheeks, 'it's true.'

'So Bekah plotted to kill you. It's nothing more than any of us have done over the centuries.' Kol protested.

'That was my point, bestie.' I muttered, trying not to sound weak; the railing was the only thing keeping me up at that moment. I saw Nik's eyes flash in concern as he noticed my deteriorating state, but his mask of anger was back before anyone noticed.

'You're making her leave?' Elena asked, surprised, 'you're okay with this?' She leaned over the railing and looked up to me, I gave her a sad smile before I answered.

'He was going to kill her, Elena; it's a miracle I got him to settle on sending her away.' I told her before she drew back, her and everyone else on the balcony below shocked.

'You were going to _kill_ our sister?' Finn asked, disgusted.

The shame in Nik's eyes was real as he avoided the eyes of those on the balcony below us as he settled on Bekah and me; we were both giving him a soft smile. Mine shone of understanding and Rebekah's emanated forgiveness, which seemed to give him the encouragement he needed to continue with his performance.

'Yes, I saw it as only a suitable punishment for what she did.' Nik smirked, clasping his hands behind his back before he continued, 'and I would be inclined to move forward with _my_ idea of punishment if you dilly dally.'

'Yes, _alright_.' Her voice was full of faux annoyance before she continued, 'I just need to say good bye to-,' Bekah started but she was interrupted by Kol from the floor below.

'You don't need to say good bye to me sister- I'm coming with you.' His voice was certain and I knew he wouldn't change his mind.

'Me too.' Finn said immediately.

'Me three.' Elena agreed.

There was a silence and I knew they were waiting for me to agree too; Bekah was my sister, Nik had threatened to kill her and he was now banishing her- I should want to leave as well.

'Myself and Kimberly will remain.' Elijah answered; I noticed that he left Hayley out of that statement and I frowned at him, not understanding why.

No one argued with Elijah's words, though I felt Hayley's confusion from below me. I heard everyone below shuffle off to back and I tried to ignore the sharp pain in my chest as I realized what was happening; my family was falling apart.

'You better call me every day.' I said for what must have been the hundredth time as I hugged Elena and Kol.

'We will bestie, I promise.' Kol chuckled, but there was a sadness shining in his eyes that had been present since he had announced they were leaving an hour ago.

'You should get going. You don't want to be stuck in traffic.' I told them, discreetly wiping the tears away from my cheeks.

'I love you Kimmie,' Elena whispered, coming in for one final hug, after I told them both I loved them, they were gone. Finn had not bothered to say goodbye, at least not to me; I sensed that he was disgusted with me for agreeing to stay with Klaus after what he had been about to do to Bekah. I was worried what that meant for our relationship, but I could only hope that he could forgive me; we were doing this to protect them. With everyone gone, the compound suddenly felt very empty, the tears in my eyes threatened to spill over, but I forced them back, knowing that if I started it would be hours before I stopped.

I was about to make my way downstairs when my ears suddenly picked up on a conversation happening downstairs.

'You want me to leave? Elijah, I care about all of you too, you've all become my family, if there's anything I can do-,' Hayley started, sounding close to tears, but before she could continue, Elijah cut her off.

'Hayley, while I appreciate your efforts I think you should go out to the bayou, with the rest of your pack. They are your family, not us.' Elijah's tone was cold and harsh but it heavily contrasted with how he was feeling; his heart was crumbling because he was hurting her.

'Elijah-,' Hayley tried again but just like before, Elijah refused to let her finish, I assumed because he was close to breaking, to giving in.

'This is family business, Hayley. You've outstayed your welcome and you need to leave.' Once he had finished speaking I heard a door close, signaling Hayley's departure, before she had moved too far away I sent a wave of comfort toward her, hoping to ease her pain a little. But as much as I wanted to, I couldn't continue to focus on her; my strength was deteriorating and I was getting weaker by the minute.

I didn't need my empath senses to know that Elijah was hurting in that moment. He had sent away the woman he loved to protect her from whatever danger his mother was going to bring to us, it was honorable, but honestly I _knew_ it wasn't necessary. Hayley had been right when she said she was a part of the family, and Elijah's fear that she wouldn't survive the Mikaelson household was misguided and as soon as I had the strength I planned to fix it. But I knew Hayley at least needed today; she would want to work through her sadness alone just like Elijah would. Which is why I promised myself there and then that I would only talk about it if they bought it up. With that thought in mind I decided to seek out Elijah, hoping to take his mind off his painful encounter with the werewolf.

I managed to walk down the stairs without falling, thanks to the help of the railing, but when I reached the bottom I took a deep breath and applied all of my focus, happy when I managed to make it to the sofa in the centre of the room. As I tried to find another jolt of energy inside me, I couldn't help but ponder over my predicament; it just didn't make any sense; I had been able to keep blood down yesterday evening, after Genevieve had cast the spell but now the _thought_ of blood made me want to throw up. How was I going to last another however many months without feeding? I was part vampire, just like the baby probably was, so what was the problem?

'Are you alright, Kimberly?' Elijah's soft voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he sat on the sofa across from me.

'I was just thinking about my blood problem.' I answered, giving him a frustrated smile, managing to keep the pity out of my gaze with great effort. I didn't have to concentrate as much on pretending, however, when I noticed a cut on his brow. I hadn't heard anything that would have indicated that his interaction with Hayley had come to physical blows, but before I could question it the smell of his blood suddenly overwhelmed my senses and it made my stomach churn, my hand came over my mouth to quell the sudden sickness that had come over me, 'don't take this the wrong way, Elijah but could you _stop_ bleeding.'

His eyes lit up in realization, but before he could do anything about it, Nik appeared biting into his wrist and offering it to Elijah sending me a concerned look that I didn't pay attention to as I stared at the dried blood left behind on his wrist after it healed. It drew me in and made my mouth water; while Elijah's blood had smelled disgusting his smelled absolutely divine, even more so than it usually did. I felt my veins grow under my eyes and my fangs extend and I gently ran my tongue over them, my eyes still on Nik's wrist; I could _hear_ the blood pumping through his veins.

'Love?' he asked, though I knew if he couldn't see my physical reaction to him, he would be able to feel my hunger.

My eyes snapped shut as his voice broke me out of the trance I had been in, I took a deep breath and willed my face to return back to normal, once I had control my eyes opened to see Nik and Elijah observing me curiously.

'Sorry.' I apologized, embarrassed.

'Actually I think I've just realized why you're having trouble drinking blood, love.' Nik smirked, coming to sit beside me.

'You have?' I was surprised.

'You need to feed on me.' He said, sounding confident in his deduction.

'How so, Niklaus?' Elijah asked.

'She looked nauseated when she saw your wound, but when she smelled my blood she looked hungry.' He explained before he continued, 'so if she can keep my blood down, the reason she threw up earlier was because her body was rejecting the blood since it wasn't mine.'

'There's only one way to find out.' I muttered, hoping he was right; having to feed off him for whatever reason was better than not being able to feed at all.

Nik offered me his wrist and I took a breath, bringing my fangs forward- willingly this time- before I bit into his writ. My first gulp was tentative, because although he tasted incredible, I was worried it was going to end the same way it had earlier. Nik placed a hand to my hair, softly stroking me as he kissed my temple before he whispered into my ear, 'help yourself, love.'

Not needing any more encouragement I unleashed my hunger, biting harder into his wrist, too far gone to even think about taking his pain. I felt his blood travel down to my stomach where it settled rather and didn't complain. I wasn't sure how long I was drinking, but I didn't stop until I was full, until the lingering hunger that had been present all day had been quenched. When I pulled back I bit into my own wrist and offered it to Nik when I felt that he was a little dizzy, he only needed a gulp or two and my wound healed quickly.

'How do you feel?' Elijah asked after I had licked the remaining blood from around my mouth.

'Great,' I answered honestly, and I did I felt wonderful, _euphoric_ even.

Nik chuckled, amused and relived as he placed a kiss to my hair.

'I wonder why it has to be his blood,' Elijah murmured, his hands in a prayer position in front of his lips as he pondered in his own mind, 'what makes it complicated is the fact you are made up of so many different things, though I don't think this has to do with your other gifts. This is to do with you two being mates.'

'As long as I don't have to starve for the next however many months I don't mind.' I said honestly, laying my head on Nik's chest and casually throwing my legs over his lap.

'Perhaps your right. As long as you have a food source we can figure out what we are going to do now.' Elijah agreed.

'What happened to your forehead anyway?' I asked.

'Marcel and I had an argument when I re-banished him from the quarter.' He explained and I wasn't really surprised; if Nik was punishing Bekah than Marcel needed to pay for what he did as well.

'Tell me the next move is ripping off Genevieve's head.' Nik said, making me chuckle, though I knew we couldn't it was still a nice idea.

'I wish, but our only advantage right now is that the witches don't know that we know about the baby, or that they intend to kill it.' I said, running my hand through his hair.

'Exactly, at least Kimberly is capable of thinking above unnecessary murder.' Elijah said, his tone sarcastic making me snort and Nik glare.

Before the conversation could continue I felt my vibrate in the pajama shorts pocket, my nose wrinkled in disgust when I realized I'd been wearing the same clothes for almost two days. Gross.

'Hey Cami, what's up?' I asked, my hand still moving through Nik's curls.

'I don't know if you already know this but Davina woke up yesterday. The witch tied to her resurrection must have died.' Cami said, her tone tentative as if she didn't know whether she should be telling me.

'She's alive?' I asked, surprised I didn't know, and when I felt Elijah and Nik's surprise it confirmed they didn't either.

Marcel must have taken her body from the compound yesterday whilst everyone was preoccupied with Nik, Bekah and I being missing.

'Yeah, but she's in a bad way, Kim. Marcel was trying to help her last night but apparently the ancestors gave her a hard time for misusing her magic the whole time she was… gone. She's scared to use her magic again and she was pissed off when she found out that Marcel and I were hoping that she could help us.' Cami explained, sounding guilty.

I stopped myself from snapping at her when I realized that she was genuinely remorseful and it wasn't her fault; she wanted to save her uncle and she wouldn't have known how Davina's time on the other side would have been.

'Where is she?' I asked once I'd managed to control my voice enough to not sound pissed off.

'That's why I'm calling… Marcel handed her over to Genevieve in exchange for her dropping the boundary spell wherever Bekah was stuck last night.' Cami murmured, the annoyance towards Marcel evident in her tone.

I felt my mouth drop open, shocked; I couldn't believe that he would do that to her. He handed her over to the very coven, who was more than likely pissed off with her due to her part in the extension of the harvest ritual. I sat up, placing my bare feet on the concrete floor.

'I'll go to her. Thanks Cami.' I said, standing up and making my way to the staircase; five minutes to shower and change wouldn't kill me, 'how's your uncle?'

'Not good. Bastianna refused to lift the hex because I didn't stab Klaus with some weird blade. But thank you both for trying to help. I appreciate it.' Cami said, her tone sincere.

'Of course. Call me if you need anything else. Okay?' I murmured into the phone, after she assured me she would and we had both said our goodbyes, I hung up the phone.

Five minutes later I was freshly showered, my hair in a high ponytail seeing as I didn't have the time or patience to dry it and I wanted it out of my face. I had put on one of Bekah's biker dresses that she had left behind; it was pale blue and lacy. I had caught a reflection of myself coming out of the shower and noticed that I had a slight bump, so I opted for Bekah's clothes because she was a size bigger than me so the dress hung loosely around my abdomen. I paired that with my black leather jacket and black biker boots. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand where I had placed it just before I got into the shower and put it in my jacket pocket. Deciding I was ready, I made my way down stairs to see that Elijah and Nik hadn't moved.

'I'm going to see Davina.' I told them and I _almost_ made it to the gates before Nik appeared in front of me, cutting me off.

'Not alone you're not. From the sounds of it, Genevieve will be there and I don't want you or my child anywhere near her.' Nik said, his tone final in a way that made me raise my brow.

'Okay, first of all, It's not _your_ child. It's _ours.'_ I murmured, my eyes narrowing in annoyance, 'and I can't even begin to imagine how terrified and how out of place she must be feeling right now. She needs a friend and seeing as Marcel was happy to hand her over to a coven of psychos while she's unsure of her magic I'm guessing she needs someone more than ever.'

'I don't care, that is not your problem.' Klaus said, his tone booking no room for argument but I just rolled my eyes.

'If you think you are going to dictate what I do, where I go and who I talk to for this pregnancy then you are sorely mistaken, Nik.' I told him, my tone completely serious.

The anger in his expression melted away, showing a glimmer of vulnerability that made my own annoyance subside.

'I'm going to see Davina. The baby and I will be _fine_. I promise you.' I murmured, both of my hands going to either side of his face as I gently bought his gaze to mine, allowing him to see that I was being sincere. After a long moment he nodded, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

'Don't be gone long.' Nik said, his hands resting on my hips.

'I won't be, and I have my phone if you need me.' I assured him.

Before I left I pulled him in for a kiss, only meaning for it to be a short peck goodbye, but one of Nik's hands went to the small of my back, the other caressing the side of my face as his mouth moved passionately against mine. He made me feel as if we were the only ones in the room, as if we were the only ones in the _world_ and as his lips dueled with mine all thoughts left my mind, with only one remaining; _I want this to last forever._ Of course, he eventually pulled away, resting his forehead against mine as we gathered our breath. My eyes were glazed over and I felt completely and utterly relaxed from head to toe, but at the same time my skin was tingling in anticipation, desperate for _more._ He noticed this and sent me a smug smirk that snapped me out of my Nik-induced trance as I remembered where I had been going. With that I hurried out of the door, making my way to the address that Cami had got from Marcel. It didn't take me long to get there, and it was surprisingly easy to find though it was more than a little creepy. Why witches had to practice magic in an old, abandoned and dirty greenhouse when they could be practicing in a cute house or apartment I would never know. Each to their own I suppose.

I didn't bother to announce my presence; I just walked in like I had been there a thousand times before. Sneaking up on witches probably wasn't the best idea, but I could only sense Davina there and I didn't think she would attack me. I found her sat at a white countertop in the middle of the room, crying softly into her hands with several dead roses surrounding her.

'Davina?' I murmured softly, not wanting to scare her.

'Kimmie?' She responded, sitting up and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

'I heard you were back. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, sweetie.' I told her, sitting on the chair beside her own as I pulled her head to my chest, one hand stroking her hair and the other around her shoulders.

'It's okay. I heard about what happened with Klaus and Rebekah.' She sniffled and I could feel that she was hurt, though she was trying to hide it.

'Yeah. Genevieve is a bitch.' I muttered, managing to get a startled laugh from her, before I gently pulled back, moving her dark brown locks away from her face, 'but I never expected you to remove the boundary spell, sweetie. You have to know that.'

She held my gaze for a few moments and when she realized that I was being genuine she hugged me hard, sobbing into my neck.

'Tell me what's going on.' I murmured, rubbing her back comfortingly.

'The whole time I was over there the ancestors spent the time telling me that I abused my magic when I sided with the vampires and if I ever did again they would make me suffer the consequences.' I could sense her fear and I was both concerned and angry at what they must have done to her to evoke such a reaction.

'Your magic is yours, Davina. You can do whatever you want with it, don't let the ancestors bully you into doing what they expect.'

'I don't know if I can even do magic anymore. I keep trying but I fail every time.' She said, pulling away from me, sitting up right in her stool and holding up one of the dead roses, 'I can't even do the spell to return this rose to the living.'

'Well then, I say use this coven like they used you for the harvest ritual. Let them help you regain your confidence to do magic and when you do, _you_ decide what you want to do with your own power. Whether it is to stay with this coven or start your own, just make sure it's your decision.' I gave her a soft smile, happy that the calming waves I was sending toward her seemed to be working; she was now relaxed and her tears had subsided.

'Thank you so much, Kimmie.' She said, her hand squeezing mine for a moment before she pulled away.

'No problem.' I waved her off, not wanting her to make a big deal out of it.

'No, you're the only one who has told me to think about what I want, everyone else wants me to get my magic back so that I can do things for them. But you always give me a choice. I've never told you how grateful I am to you for that.' Davina murmured, giving me a soft sincere smile that brightened up her whole face.

'I'll always give you a choice, Davina.' I promised her.

'I believe you.' She said, still smiling.

We talked for a little while longer, but as the two-hour mark ticked by, Klaus' voice asking me to be back as soon as I could kept ringing in my mind. I gave it ten more minutes and with a parting hug and making Davina promise to call me if she needed _anything_ , I was making my way home.

I had half expected Klaus' angry form to be greeting me as I walked into the compound when I returned home, but I was surprised to find it all completely quiet. When I focused I sensed that Elijah was gone and Klaus was upstairs in his art studio, which is where I went without hesitation. He seemed too lost and concentrated on the canvas he was painting on to sense me; though his body did tense up as I paused by the doorway, but it was an action he didn't seem consciously aware of. I couldn't see what he was painting; his body was blocking it from my view, but whatever it was he was pouring his emotion into it; waves of fear, excitement and admiration were coming from him in waves and it made me curious as to what form these emotions inspired.

'Did I ever mention how hot I find a guy who can work a paint brush?' I said, finally deciding to announce my presence.

His surprise quickly turned into amusement as he placed a sheet over the canvas he had been working on before he faced me; he grinned when he saw that I was pouting before he came over and aligned my body with his, his hands resting on my ass, mine doing the same.

'Don't pout, you can see it when it's finished, love.' He murmured, resting his forehead against mine.

'Fine.' I agreed, though I had to resist the urge to look in the direction of the painting, despite the sheet interfering with my vision.

'I trust everything went well with the witch?' He asked, not sounding really interested as his hand curled around my ponytail, gently yanking my head back so that my lips were more readily available to him.

' _Davina_ isn't so great right now, she's adjusting but she'll get there.' I murmured, suddenly no longer in the mood to chat.

'I'm glad you're back safe, love. I was starting to worry.' He murmured, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke, but in that moment he didn't sound worried at all.

'You would be able to sense if anything had happened to me, Nik. And I promised you we'd be fine.' My hands came to rest on his lean chest, just above his pecks.

'I will never not be worried about you when you're away from my protection, love.' His hands moved too; his right hand caressing the side of my face, his left moving to the small of my back and pulling me tighter against him, making me gasp.

'I know, Nik. Just like I worry about you.' I noticed the surprise in his eyes from my words, and he looked as if he were about to question me, but when he saw the sincerity in my eyes his disbelief disappeared and without another word, his lips were moving against mine.

I gasped when I felt my back suddenly being pushed up against the wall of his art studio, giving him the opening he needed to allow his tongue to enter my mouth, leaving no space untouched. At some point my hands had moved to tangle in my hair, and as he deepened the kiss I found myself tugging at his curls, silently asking him for _more._ He complied, gently tugging off my jacket and then taking my right leg and hooking it around his hip, aligning our hips, the friction jolting my body in the best possible way.

Nik's lips moved to my neck, placing open mouthed kisses all the way down to my left collarbone, and slowly moving to my right, while his hands moved up to my breasts, massaging them adding to my arousal with each movement. My hands moved to the neckline of his shirt, tearing it straight down the middle, I felt him smirk against my neck but otherwise he didn't react, never ceasing in his torment. I moaned when I felt the brush of his fangs against the crook of my neck, my hand going to his hair to urge him to continue, and when his teeth sank into my neck I released a moan loud enough that would have embarrassed me if I were still capable of a conscious thought. My own fangs emerged and I bit into the same spot that had opened up on his neck that had on mine, moaning again when the taste of his blood consumed me. My hands moved of their own accord, removing his belt and dark blue jeans as we continued to drink from each other; his own hands reached up under my dress, ripping my underwear to shreds. Before I could do it myself, his hands went to my hips, lifting me, my legs wrapping around his hips out of instinct. I withdrew from his neck, gasping in complete and utter pleasure when he entered me in one swift movement; his hips moved against mine in a frenzy of passion that couldn't be contained. While he continued to drink from me, my hands tangled in his hair, my hips meeting his thrust for thrust as we raced towards the end together. As we reached our climax in unison, Nik's hips were moving fast enough, rough enough that the wall I was against was starting to shake, the plaster cracking and crumbling to the floor. Neither of us paid it much attention as we finished, Nik's fangs withdrawing from my neck, his forehead resting against mine, we shared a satisfied grin and a soft kiss as we came down from the high we had reached together.

 **That's chapter thirty-eight! I hope you like it! Let me know what you think :) Sorry if you don't think much is happening in this chapter, it's a bit of filler and needed to set up the rest of the storyline. See you next week with a new one! Don't be mad at Hayley and Elijah's interaction here, she will be back I promise :)**

 **REVIEWS WILL BE ANSWERED WITH A DIRECT MESSAGE FROM NOW ON UNLESS YOU ARE A GUEST! SO IF YOU LEFT A REVIEW LAST WEEK AND DON'T SEE A RESPONSE HERE CHECK YOUR DIRECT MESSAGES! :)**

 **Mili: Awww y cant u make her a badass n just kill them all already badass move if she wakes up n just decides to say f*** it n kill them. split up u their stronger together. Her killing them with the family asleep not knowing will be cool.** _ **Haha, I wish I could, Kim is badass and believe me if there was a way for her to fix this problem on her own, she would, but unfortunately it's just not that simple :(**_

 **A huge thank you to ShatteredEffect and belladu57 for giving my story a favorite, it means a lot! :)**


	39. Treaties In The Quarter

Chapter Thirty Nine

'I still don't understand why you're making me go.' I muttered, snuggling deeper into the covers; I longed for more sleep but I knew I wouldn't get any unless the overly amused hybrid at the foot of the bed decided to get some more sleep too.

'You know why, love. Now get moving before Elijah comes in and decides to drag you out, his patience isn't as great as mine,' Nik replied, his brows raising in amusement as he pursed his lips to bite back a laugh.

'Oh yes, your patience is _definitely_ much better than Elijah's,' I chuckled, throwing the covers away from me and going to walk over to the bathroom. I was still naked from last night's activities, so I wasn't surprised when Nik caught my wrist as I went to move around him.

'You are positively exquisite,' he murmured against my lips, his hands resting softly on my bare waist.

'As are you,' I whispered back, kissing him fully on the mouth before I pulled back, grinning devilishly, 'I'm afraid I have a very important meeting to get ready for, so this will have to wait.'

His expression was a mixture of annoyance, shock and amusement, so all in all priceless. I couldn't help but laugh as I locked the bathroom door behind me, not wanting to give him the invitation to join me, otherwise we would be late for the meeting and I didn't have the energy to be on the wrong side of Elijah. I turned on the shower, after twisting my hair into a bun on top of my head; it didn't need washing as I had already one it the day before. When I was satisfied with the temperature I stepped under the water, enjoying the way that it cascaded over my body before I grabbed the body wash and lathered it over me, my hands pausing over my suddenly huge baby bump. The past few months, since everyone had left, my bump had been growing at a rather alarming rate; Elijah had looked into it and after coming up with nothing he finally went to Genevieve. I didn't find out until after that he had even considered going to her, and I was _furious_. It was the first time that Elijah had ever gotten on my bad side, and I don't think he was eager for a repeat.

After I had calmed down he had told me that Genevieve had admitted to casting the spell to render the protection over my baby void, which we already knew, and that the baby wasn't growing at an alarming rate, but the magic protecting it had simply been wearing off. Elijah had discovered this a few weeks ago, and since then my bump hadn't grown anymore, meaning the magic had fully worn off and caught up to the size that the baby was now; I looked like I had a watermelon under my shirt. Of course, the moment that this started happening we all realised that we couldn't risk anyone in the quarter finding out, and as my pregnancy had been impossible to hide with an ever growing baby bump, I had been placed under house arrest. Which probably wasn't the best way to avoid suspicion; Nik and Elijah had been attending meetings without me for two months and it took two minutes for the suspicion to grow. Seeing as I hardly ever left Nik's side for extended periods of time people started to speculate and the rumours started with it. People thought Nik had killed me out of spite for siding with Bekah. People thought I had left Nik and Elijah and left town with Bekah and everyone else. They were starting to get more and more antsy, and seeing as most of the vampires had apparently been okay with the new leadership because it meant that I would be their Queen, there had been a few conflicts and attempted uprisings. Hence why I was being forced out of bed at seven in the morning to attend my first ever supernatural forces meeting.

Once I was finished in the shower I stepped out and wrapped a bathrobe around myself, not bothering with a towel as the watermelon sized baby bump prevented it from covering my whole body. Nik wasn't in the bedroom when I stepped out, but I could sense that he wasn't far away; I could hear him and Elijah talking downstairs, their voices soft and I assumed it was so that I wouldn't be able to hear them. So as I dressed in a soft grey body con dress that went down to my knees, white converse and a black leather jacket, I eavesdropped on their conversation.

'I don't know about this Elijah. Telling them now might be too soon.' Nik argued, sounding concerned.

'Brother, we have talked about this extensively; introducing Kimberly's pregnancy ourselves before the witches reveal it is a smart move. We need them to trust us and so the news needs to come from us.' Elijah replied, his voice calm and collected as he tried to calm Nik's worries.

'What if they don't stand beside us? What if they think the baby is a move for power? What if-,' Nik rambled but Elijah cut him off.

'You know by now that any threats against our family are not tolerated, if they are anything less than supportive and welcoming to the baby then they will be dealt with accordingly,' Elijah promised him.

I heard Nik exhale in relief and I shook my head fondly as I removed my hair from the bun it had been contained in, allowing it to fall loosely around my shoulders, down to my waist. Now completely ready, I went to meet them downstairs. Before I got there I heard the conversation change again and the new topic made my heart clench painfully.

'Have you heard from her?' Nik asked, his voice now soft.

'Why would I have heard from her, brother?' Elijah answered, and I was almost certain that he would have turned away from Nik before he continued so that he couldn't see the pain in his eyes that was present whenever Hayley was bought up, 'I banished her from this family to protect her and I haven't heard from her since.'

At that moment I entered the room, 'yes and that's your fault. Hayley is a part of this family and she didn't deserve to be banished. I understand that you wanted to protect her but leaving should have been her choice, not yours.'

'Kimberly-,' He started, but I cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say.

'Yeah, yeah it's not my business, I have no right to interfere.' I mimicked his British accent as I repeated everything he had said to me multiple times over the past few months whenever I dared to mention her name, before I continued, my voice serious, 'I can feel how heartbroken you are every time I look at you Elijah, and I hate seeing you this way. So do us both a favour and go and see her, explain everything. She has a right to know.'

With that the room fell into silence for a moment as Elijah considered my words, and before he could overthink it too much I held up my hand.

'Go to her now. Before you overthink it and talk yourself out of it.' I started pushing him towards the gates, ignoring Nik's amused chuckle at what was probably a humorous sight, 'we'll be fine. Do something for yourself for once, Elijah.'

I let go of him when we reached the gates and he turned, his mouth open in protest, but it snapped shut when he saw the 'just do it' look I was giving him. Without another word he turned and left, leaving me to face Nik with a victorious smile as I curtsied at his round of applause.

'That was impressive love,' Nik chuckled as he reached me, his hands once again resting on my waist while mine wound around his neck.

'What can I say? I can be very persuasive, it's a gift.' I murmured, closing my eyes from the pleasure of Nik's hands moving back and forth on my waist, they opened when he suddenly stopped and I could tell that they had turned amber as the desire had built within me.

'They'll be here soon, and you need to feed.' Nik murmured as an explanation, directing me to the crook of his neck, without another word I bought my quadbrid face forward and gently bit into his neck. We had fallen into a routine now; he would let me feed from him every morning after we had gotten up and before bed. With Nik's blood keeping me nourished, I found the smell of blood didn't make me nauseous as long as my own hunger was satisfied. If Nik didn't have enough time to let me feed from him be would leave me a blood bag full of his blood that he had drawn every week to make sure there would always be enough just encase he couldn't be around. I usually fed directly from him though; we both preferred it and the reasoning why was hard to explain. While a blood bag satisfied me, Nik's blood tasted and _felt_ much better coming from the vein; I think it had something to do with the mate bond, the more I drank from him, the deeper our connection became.

I pulled back after a few minutes and Nik leant down to lick away the blood running down my own neck where I had opened up in the same place as him. I felt him smirk against my neck as I shivered from the action. When he pulled back I narrowed my eyes playfully before I leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. I kissed him, closed mouthed, over and over again because I knew it drove him crazy, and as if it was on cue he growled hungrily, one hand coming to the side of my face to hold me in place, while the other roughly grabbed my waist as he bit my lip, deepening the kiss. Before we could get any further, however, we pulled apart at the same time as we picked up on footsteps entering the house. We shared a look full of promise to continue this later before Nik went to the head seat of the dining table and I sat in the seat to his left, hiding my baby bump until the moment was right.

Up until this point Nik and Elijah had only been meeting with vampires of the quarter, but today was sure to be an… _interesting_ meeting as we were going to broach the idea of a truce between all species. Nik had requested that Genevieve send a harvest girl as a representative for the witches seeing as I _really_ didn't trust the red head herself. I didn't know who she was going to send, but I was hoping it would be Davina- I had been keeping in touch with her over the phone but I hadn't been able to meet her face to face for obvious reasons. As for the werewolves, I had mentioned the idea to Hayley the day before and she had promised to send someone to represent the wolves, after she thanked me for involving them. I had kept in touch with her, despite Elijah pushing her away, but refrained from telling her about the baby or the real reason that Kol, Bekah, Finn and Elena were gone; that needed to come from Elijah.

The first one to walk in was Thierry; the representative for the vampires, I sent him a friendly smile as he took his seat across from me, which he returned. Usually when Nik was calling meetings, the top ten vampires that he trusted all came, but seeing as we wanted to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, we only invited one to represent them all as a whole.

'Thierry, mate, any news in the quarter?' Nik asked, coming to stand behind him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

'No, everything is the same. Vampires are feeding of tourists and the locals remain untouched.' Thierry murmured, and I could tell that he was being honest.

'Very good. Listen today we're going to try and make some kind of peace in the quarter. I know you're going to be apprehensive, but please remain open minded.' I said, being sure to make my voice soft; I wanted him to feel like he had a choice.

'Alright.' He nodded, sounding unsure.

Jackson was the next to enter and he came over to take the seat next to me, kissing my cheek as he did, earning him a warning growl from Klaus. I rolled my eyes and sent him a wave of reassurance as I squeezed Jackson's hand in greeting before I let go.

'What is _he_ doing here?' Thierry asked, his tone one of disgust.

'Watch your tone.' I said, facing Thierry, 'this is what we meant when we said to keep an open mind.'

Thierry looked like he was about to protest and storm out, but before he could our final guest joined us, and when I saw who it was I felt my face harden and I sent Nik an annoyed look, but he looked just as surprised as I did.

'Genevieve. What are you doing here?' Nik asked, smiling but his tone was anything but friendly.

'You asked for a representative for the witches, so here I am.' She smiled, her eyes gleaming with mischief; she knew exactly what she was doing and I didn't want her to have the satisfaction of getting the reaction she wanted. So I placed my hand on Nik's knee underneath the table to calm him down as well as prevent him from saying something that might piss off the witch.

'Thank you for coming, just take a seat we were about to begin.' I smiled sweetly, though underneath I was absolutely seething, but my anger simmered a little at her surprise to my treatment. After a brief moment of hesitation she took a seat next to Jackson and Nik squeezed my hand on his thigh briefly before standing, walking around the table like a shark circling its prey, his hands clasped behind his back.

'As you know, Kimberly has been out of commission for the past few months, but I assure you that we stand together strong and united, more so than we ever have. Do disregard anything that you have heard saying otherwise.' Nik started, coming to a stop behind me, his hand resting on my shoulder as a sign of our union.

'Then where has she been the past two months?' Thierry asked, sounding curious.

'Well…' I started but Nik squeezed my shoulder, cutting me off.

'We will get to that later. For now, lets talk about a truce. We think it's about time that there was peace between the witches, vampires and the werewolves.' Nik murmured, going back to pacing around the table; I had to stop watching because he was starting to make me dizzy.

'It's been a long time coming, really.' I muttered, nodding to Jackson when he grunted in agreement.

'I don't think so, vampires are not going to tolerate any kind of treaty with werewolves.' Thierry said.

'Really, because you have no trouble having a King and a Queen who are half werewolf.' I pointed out, amused when he couldn't come up with a retort.

'The witches are not going to be happy to have werewolves living in the quarter either, vampires are bad enough.' Genevieve chipped in.

'Well I don't see why witches would have a problem with werewolves seeing as it was the witches who put the curse on the crescent wolves twenty years ago. As for vampires having issues with the werewolves, they are only really a threat to you on a full moon.' I said, my eyes flickering in between Genevieve and Thierry as I addressed them separately.

'And on a full moon we'd be out in the bayou and away from you.' Jackson chipped in, his arms folding over his chest as he leaned back in his chair, 'as far as I'm concerned it should be the werewolves who would have a problem with living in peace with the two of your kind.'

'Really? Wasn't it the wolves who tried to take over the quarter twenty years ago?' Thierry ground out.

'Okay,' I cut in before we lost control of the situation, leaning into Nik's touch as he came to stand behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders, 'that is the whole point of this treaty. So that you can all live your lives without having to look over your shoulder, worrying about what the witches, werewolves or vampires have got planned for you. Wouldn't you prefer that?'

The whole room fell into silence as everyone considered my words, I could feel the different emotions coming from everyone in the room; Jackson and Thierry were apprehensive, but also cautiously hopeful. But Genevieve desired to earn Nik's trust, and mine, so I wasn't at all surprised when she was the first one to break the silence.

'I will sign for the witches.' She said, raising her chin confidently as she met my gaze, I gave her a nod before I looked over to Thierry as he opened his mouth to speak.

'What happens if someone breaks it?' He asked.

'Anyone who breaks the treaty will be dealt with accordingly.' Elijah answered as he walked into the dining room, and I couldn't stop the grin from forming on my face when I saw Hayley following behind him.

'What do you mean dealt with accordingly?' Jackson asked.

'Obviously it depends on the crime and the species involved but the punishments can vary from temporary banishments to death.' Nik answered, smirking at everyone around the table.

'The werewolves will sign.' Jackson answered after sharing a look with Hayley.

'Great, looks like the balls in your court, Thierry.' I said with a smile.

'Fine. I'll sign for the vampires.' He answered, somewhat begrudgingly.

'Excellent. I hope that you are aware, as the representatives of each of your species it is your duty to make sure that they stay in line at all times.' Elijah added, smiling softly when everyone nodded in agreement.

'Well let's get this finalised then shall we?' Nik smirked, shouting for one of the maids to come in with the tools he had already had her prepare; a circular stone bowl, a knife and a feathered pen. They were all laid out on the table and Elijah produced the written up treaty from his coat laying it beside the assorted tools. Nik picked up the knife first, slicing open his palm and allowing his blood to pour into the bowl, I had to force myself to look away from his blood, not wanting my desire to overcome me in that moment. He passed the knife to me and I repeated his movements, as did everyone around the table when their time came. Once everyone's blood was in the bowl, Nik dipped the feathered pen into it, signing his name, all of us once again repeating the process. Once it was finished Nik picked up the parchment, grinning at it before he handed it off to the maid, addressing the room once again.

'Now that we've got that out of the way, onto the second reason for this meeting. On the interest of all species being treated as equal, we wanted you to find out at the same time. Kimberly and I are having a child.' Nik said, grinning at the varying degrees of confusion on people's faces, well everyone except for me, Elijah and Hayley.

'That's not possible.' Thierry said, looking flabbergasted.

Before the others could start calling us liars, I stood up, allowing them to see just how pregnant I actually was. Needless to say the whole room fell into an awed and shocked silence as they stared at my bump.

'Oh my god, you're huge!' Hayley said, her eyes widening when she realised what she had said, making me laugh.

'Yeah, thanks for that Hayles.' I shook my head fondly as I sat back down, not comfortable with the attention.

'I'm sorry, it's just-,' She started to justify her words but I cut her off by holding up my hand, a grin on my face.

'Don't worry about it, it shocked me too.'

'So the baby will be…' Jackson trailed off as he waited for an answer.

'Part vampire, werewolf and witch.' Nik supplied, taking my hand in his, entwining our fingers.

'So as you can see, we want this treaty to succeed more than anyone. For the sake of my niece, I will enforce this treaty until the rift between the species becomes a distant memory.' Elijah said, taking the seat next to Thierry and threating his fingers together in front of his face as if he were pondering something.

'Well I hope it works out. Congratulations.' Jackson said, standing and giving me a hug before addressing everyone else, 'we should get back, tonight's a full moon and we need to prepare, make sure everyone is ready.'

'Okay, thank you for coming.' I said, standing to see them out; I wanted a minute with Hayley before she left.

When we reached the gates she turned to me and hugged me hard, both of us laughed when my bump created an obstruction.

'I can't believe it.' Hayley murmured, her hands hovering over my belly as if she was unsure, but when I gave her an encouraging smile her hesitance disappeared.

'I still can't either. I assume Elijah has told you everything?' I asked her, not wanting to outright say it; Thierry and Genevieve didn't need to know the truth.

'He did, but so much has happened the past few months. I'm going to be here for you guys, of course, I consider you family and I would never turn my back on that…' She trailed off, biting her lip.

'But you're happy in the bayou.' I finished for her, giving her a soft smile as I squeezed her hand comfortingly, 'that's nothing to be sorry for. I'm happy you're happy. But you better visit me.'

'I will. I wanted to before but I was worried about it being awkward between Elijah and me, but now we've cleared the air, so we're good.' She smiled, giving me one last parting hug before her and Jackson left. When I returned to the dining room I went straight to my seat, making myself comfortable; I noticed that Elijah had taken Jackson's previous seat and I knew it was because he wanted a body in between Genevieve and me.

'Is there anything else we need to discuss? If not I need to get back to my girls.' Genevieve said, moving to stand.

'Nope, you're free to go.' I told her, trying not to sound too eager over her departure. I made a mental note to call Davina later to see how she was doing with her witchcraft; she had managed to tap into her magic again and she was flourishing. I was really proud of her and I told her so; she didn't give up and didn't let her fear over the ancestors hold her back.

'You look like you have something you want to say,' I commented looking over to Thierry.

'The whole time I've been a vampire here we've never gone for the peace route. I guess it just seems too good to be true.' He admitted.

'Only time will tell, mate. Now off you pop. You have my number if you need assistance with anything.' Nik said, clapping Thierry's shoulder as he stood, leading him to the gates.

'Well that went better than expected,' I muttered, standing and making my way to the courtyard, taking a seat on the sofa.

'Indeed. I assume that had something to do with your presence. Niklaus doesn't usually introduce a new idea, he enforces it, your way avoided a lot of unnecessary squabbling.' Elijah smiled, taking a seat in the armchair across from me.

'Well I'm glad I could help.' I said, absentmindedly rubbing my stomach, leaning back on the sofa and closing my eyes.

'We should celebrate.' Nik announced as he joined us in the courtyard, lifting my feet, sitting down and resting my feet on his lap.

'That's not a bad idea, Nik.' I agreed, what better way to get everyone used to being civil towards each other? We could shove them into a party with booze and music, lessening the tensions a little.

'I agree. If you would allow me, I could make the arrangements.' Elijah said.

I didn't even open my eyes as I gave him my permission; Nik agreed as well and I felt Elijah leave the room, already taking charge on the party. I felt Nik shift, laying down between me and the sofa, one hand resting on my bump and the other going under my head as his own head rests in the crook of my neck, inhaling.

'This isn't a good idea. We're going to end up staying here all day,' I murmured, yawning and tilting my head so my face was resting in Nik's curls.

'Why would that be a bad thing, love?' Nik whispered back, his breath tickling my neck and making my skin break out in goose bumps.

'I don't know if we deserve to be this relaxed with everything that needs to me done,' I mumbled against his curls, but of course he heard me perfectly fine.

'Nonsense. We are expecting, we deserve to be as relaxed as we can possibly be before the baby comes.' He replied, his tone taking on a humorous lilt.

I laughed lightly, my hand tangling in his hair, 'well I can't argue with that.'

Nik chuckled and leaned up, my hand shifting to his shoulder from the movement. My breath caught in my throat from the way he was looking at me; his eyes were glimmering with love and admiration. He was looking at me as if I were the only thing in the world that mattered to him and I found myself wondering what I had done to deserve him. His hand came to softly caress the side of my face; he smiled softly when I involuntarily leaned into his touch. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but he was struggling to find the words, though it wasn't necessary; his eyes and his touch was telling me everything that his mouth couldn't.

I smiled and moved my hand from his shoulder to the side of his face, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly across his stubble.

'I feel the same way,' I told him, smiling when he looked surprised, but he soon collected himself and leaned down, kissing my lips softly. What started off soft and tender soon became charged with lust and promise as his mouth moved against mine, his hand tauntingly travelling up my body, starting just below my left knee and gliding up, bringing the body con dress with it. When his hand touched my core, my whole body jolted from the sensation and Nik smirked against my lips, his hand leaving my core sliding underneath my underwear to grip my bare ass. I reached down, my hands slipping underneath his shirt and trailing up to his pecks, taking his shirt with it. He pulled back for a moment and shrugged off his dark grey Henley before his lips were back on mine once more.

The next day soon presented itself, and by the afternoon Klaus and I were still in bed, my back on Klaus' chest, he was absentmindedly drawing shapes on my shoulder with one hand, while the other was entwined with mine, resting on my chest. I was trying my hardest to tune out all the noise that was happening downstairs in the courtyard; Elijah was renovating in preparation for the party in a few hours, we had been woken up with the banging at seven in the morning. Nik had managed to contain my annoyance by distracting me in other ways and suggesting that we stay in bed all day seeing as Elijah genuinely didn't want any help with the preparations.

We were snapped out of our comfortable silence when our phones rang in unison, Nik passed me mine while he answered his.

'Hello?' I murmured into my phone, turning onto my side, my head lying on Nik's arm while my free hand rested on his chest, idly tracing over his feather tattoo.

'Kim! Thank god, I've been trying to call you for two hours, I finally have service!' Bekah answered, her voice excited.

'Hey, Bekah! How are you?' I asked, frowning over to Nik when he gestured for me to be quiet, but when he showed me who he was speaking to, I understood. Genevieve.

'Hold on two seconds Bekah, Genevieve is talking to Nik.' I said, bringing the phone away from my ear when Bekah answered that she would hang on.

'What exactly is it you wanted, Genevieve?' Nik asked, his tone not exactly friendly.

'Well, now that you've officially announced Kimberly's pregnancy I thought I'd offer the services of a witch doctor. She is currently residing in the bayou, I have told her about the treaty but she wants to wait to see if it's successfully reinforced before she comes to the quarter.' Genevieve offered.

'Well Kimberly's right here I'll let her answer herself.' Nik smirked, offering me the phone.

'That's nice of you Genevieve but I think we're good.' I said, hanging up the phone forgoing hearing her response.

Nik chuckled at my bluntness, softly kissing my hair, while I put my phone on speakerphone so that Bekah could talk to us both.

'We're back Bekah.' I said, placing a kiss to Nik's jaw.

'What happened?' She asked.

'Genevieve was trying to convince Kimberly to see a bayou doctor.' Nik informed her.

'Oh, hey Nik! It's good to hear your voice, brother.' Bekah said, and I could tell she was smiling.

'You too, little sister.' Nik chuckled, his hand absentmindedly rubbing up and down my arm.

'So I'll take it you declined her offer.' Bekah said, sounding disapproving, 'is that really wise? I mean you didn't even know about this pregnancy three months ago, shouldn't you make sure that everything is running smoothly?'

'I don't trust Genevieve. I had a vision of her saying that she was going to kill my baby, Bekah. I'm definitely not going to any doctors that she recommends.' I muttered, my fist clenching in anger.

'That's fair enough, but you need to make sure everything is going smoothly with the baby. You could find out the sex and how far along you actually are seeing as all we're doing is speculating at this point.' Bekah argued, her tone soft as she tried to convince me.

'I don't know, Bekah-,' I started but she cut me off.

'If you're worried about her trying something, take Nik or Elijah with you. Though I'm pretty sure you could handle yourself.'

'I'll think about it.' I conceded, hoping that would be enough for her to drop the subject.

'Okay, I'll take that for now.' Bekah agreed before she moved on to a new topic, 'how's Elijah doing anyway? Is he still not talking to Hayley?'

'He went to tell her what was happening this morning, though he must have left it too long because Hayley has decided to remain in the bayou.' Nik informed her.

'It'll blow over, I'm sure.' Bekah murmured, her tone hopeful that it would.

'He's keeping himself busy arranging a party for tonight. Werewolves, witches and vampires will be present.' I said, my tone one of humour.

'Well with all of them in the same room you will be kept on your toes that's for sure.' Bekah snorted.

'Speaking of, sister, we have to get ready. Talk to you soon?' Nik clarified, and I could feel that he was hopeful he would hear from his baby sister much sooner rather than later.

'Of course, Nik. You know how tenacious I can be.' She replied, and I could tell that she was smiling, 'until next time. I love you both.'

'We love you too, sister.' I replied before hanging up the phone and tossing it on the nightstand.

From the sounds of it, the party was already in full swing downstairs and so far I couldn't feel any anger that would suggest a brawl was on the brink of breaking out. As much as I didn't want to move, I knew we had to; we were two of the three hosts of this party meaning our absence would be noticed. We both used our vampire speed to dress in the outfits that Elijah had already organised for us; Nik was wearing a black tux with a deep purple bowtie that matched my dress. My dress was fitted to just above my bump where it flared out, flowing freely all the way down to the floor. There were silver rhinestones around the neckline, which bought attention to my breasts, as well as the tear shape hole that was cut out between them. I left my hair down, allowing it to hang loosely to the left side of my neck where I assured it would stay with the silver diamante pins I added to the back of my skull. My make up was minimal; mascara, bronzer and a lip stain that was the same plum colour as my dress. After I added my plain black flats I was ready to go, taking Nik's arm with a grateful smile as he led us down stairs.

'Elijah has out done himself,' I commented as we walked down the staircase, I almost didn't recognise the courtyard, I felt as if we had stepped into an exclusive nightclub. The room was bathed in a purple ambiance, the music was so loud the walls felt like they were vibrating and the courtyard had been cleared of it's normal furniture, small round tables covered with a white cloth and a small rose resting in the centre were scattered over the floor space. We had appeared just on time, that or Elijah had purposely been waiting for us, because as soon as we reached the main party the music stopped and Elijah stood with a glass of champagne on the staircase we had just vacated. Nik and I shared an amused look before we gave him our full attention.

'Thank you all for joining us tonight. I am sure you are all now aware of the treaty that has been put in place, we ask that in light of this agreement you put aside any differences you may have had so that we may all live in peace. Enjoy your evening,' he toasted his champagne and the rest of the room followed suit; aside from me and Nik seeing as we hadn't been downstairs long enough to procure a drink yet.

Once Elijah was finished the music began again and chatter picked up immediately. I turned when I heard my name being called, and left Nik with a kiss to his cheek; I went to see Davina while he went to speak to Elijah.

'I'm glad you're here, Davina.' I said to her, hugging her tightly; I may have been speaking to her religiously over the phone but it was never the same as seeing someone in the flesh.

'Me too, Kimmie. I can't believe you're pregnant! Why didn't you tell me?' She asked when she pulled away, I could sense that she was slightly hurt and I sent a comforting wave to her out of reflex.

'No one know, sweetie. Well no one aside from Nik and Elijah, we didn't want to say anything until it had all settled for us, we could barely believe it so we didn't know how everyone else would react.' I answered honestly, well as honestly as I could while leaving out the truth over why Bekah, Kol, Finn and Elena had left.

'That's fair enough.' She agreed, giving me a soft smile, 'I should get back to Genevieve and the others, they don't want us separating too long encase there's any trouble.'

'You know I'd protect you if anything happened.' I told her, giving her an assuring look.

'I know that but it's Genevieve,' she shrugged and that was enough of an explanation for me. I gave her a sympathetic look and a hug before we parted.

As I watched Davina disappear into the crowd I looked around for any other familiar faces, but I couldn't find any; I assumed that Hayley and Jackson hadn't arrived yet or they were already preoccupied with other people. Just as I was about to seek out Nik I heard a crash coming from my right and I hurried in that direction without even thinking only to see Elijah holding a blonde werewolf whose name I think was Oliver to the wall, looking and feeling murderous.

'What is going on here?' I asked, noticing that Diego was watching Elijah and Oliver with a smug grin on his face.

'It seems that Oliver here was all too eager to break the treaty.' Elijah growled, his voice ice cold.

'And I assume that Oliver acted on his own?' I asked, continuing when Elijah turned to give me a questioning stare, 'he just walked in here raring to attack a vampire and did it for no reason?'

When Elijah failed to give me an answer I reached to the left of me, grabbing Diego by his arm and shoving him forward.

'From his arrogance at seeing you ready to kill Oliver, I'm assuming he had a hand in the altercation as well.' I clarified.

'Is this true, Diego?' Nik asked, appearing out of nowhere and coming to stand beside me, fixing Diego with a hard stare.

'He kept shoving into me and making comments about how he murdered my family. I snapped, okay?' Diego said, holding his hands up; I gave Elijah and Nik a slight nod when I sensed that he was telling the truth.

'Well then, boys how about we settle this the old fashioned way? Seeing as this is the first day of the treaty and I _really_ wouldn't want this party ruined with murder this early into the evening...' I trailed off, walking over to Elijah and gesturing for him to release Oliver, once he did I grabbed his arm and moved him to stand in front of Diego, 'apologise. Both of you.'

They both looked at me as if they were wondering if I were serious, when they saw the hard stare I was giving them their jaws dropped open in shock.

'Any feuds the vampires may have had with werewolves or vice versa are in the past and if they keep getting rehashed to justify you trying to kill each other then you're just going to be constantly at war. So, be men suck it up and just _let it go,_ ' I emphasised my last words, hoping that they would see how stupid this was.

After a long moment Diego held out his hand and after another long moment, Oliver held out his, they shook, offering each other a mumbled 'I'm sorry'. But it was good enough for me; they each walked off in opposite directions and for the first time I noticed that the whole room had become silent and we had attracted an audience. I felt my cheeks reddening at the attention while I silently willed them to stop.

'What?' I asked, lamely.

I could sense that the whole crowd were in awe but I failed to understand _why_. I looked over to Nik and then Elijah for clarification but they just smiled at me, looking almost proud. Before I could completely freak out at how mute everyone was being, someone in the crowd started clapping and when I looked over to who it was I saw Hayley and Jackson grinning at me. Before I could question it further, everyone was clapping; I would have to ask Nik why later on but in that moment all I wanted to do was disappear. Nik sensed this and he gestured for the music to start back up and when it did everyone seemed to take this as their cue and fanned out, resuming their activates, all aside from Jackson and Hayley who made their way over to me and Nik who now had his arm around my waist.

'That was amazing.' Hayley said, hugging me tightly before she let me go, 'I'm suddenly really glad we signed that treaty.'

When they noticed my confusion, Jackson explained, 'instead of letting it end in bloodshed you diffused the situation. Everyone saw that empathetic side of you and I'm pretty sure they appreciate it too.'

'Oh,' was all I could think to say, leaning into Nik's side as he placed a kiss to my temple.

After the close call of the treaty being thrown out of the window, the rest of the night progressed rather smoothly. People started to make their way over to me in pairs; I could sense that they were rather intimidated of me, but I made sure to take care of that by sending comforting waves towards them. I didn't want anyone to be afraid of me; I wanted to make sure that everyone was as comfortable as possible to tell me if anything was wrong and they weren't likely to do that if they feared me. Quite a few, like Hayley, thanked me for the way I handled the interaction earlier, and I realised just how scared everyone was to just _live_ in fear that they may be sentenced to absolute death if they stepped out of line. That was a fear I was determined to erase. Nik managed to steal me away for a dance after a few hours of mingling, which I was grateful for; I was glad people were talking to me but I had underestimated how exhausting it was.

'Are you having a good time, love?' Nik murmured, only low enough for me to hear; my head was resting on his chest, one hand on his waist and the other holding his as we moved together.

'I am. Despite what happened earlier, I think the night is progressing rather well.' I replied, fighting back a yawn.

'I agree, seeing you in action tonight confirmed something that I knew from the minute I saw you.' He said, the tone of his voice hinting that he was smirking.

'What was that?' I asked, smiling teasingly as I moved my head from his chest to look him in the eye, only a few inches in between our faces.

'That you would be a good Queen.' He rested his forehead against mine, and I couldn't help but close my eyes at the sensation.

'I'm glad I didn't disappoint.' I said, my eyes still closed, as I trusted him to lead me.

'You have _never_ disappointed me, love. And I'm certain you never will.' He replied, his voice sincere.

'Never is a strong word,' I commented.

'It is,' he agreed, twirling me away from him and then back again.

'What if-,' I started but I was cut off when the music stopped _again_ and the sound of drums could be heard coming from the hallway; Nik and I shared a confused look before we went to investigate.

Before we even reached the five African- American drummers in white suits marching down the stairs, I knew that whatever reason they had for being there wasn't good. The lead drummer came to a stop on the last step, the pairs behind him stopping as well. I moved so that I was directly in front of them, ready to interfere if necessary.

'We have a message, from Marcel Gerard,' the leader said, raising a small pocketknife in the air; the four men behind him did the same and I stepped forward, standing in front of the leader, instantly knowing what he was going to do. I heard and smelled the blood as he sliced his wrist and when it was done, I noticed all of the vampires loosing control at the smell of fresh human blood; the newbie vampires wouldn't be able to restrain themselves. Before I could say anything, Elijah and Nik came to stand either side of me, Elijah speaking in a calm and firm voice.

'Control yourselves. We will _not_ violate our treaty.'

But the vampires wouldn't listen and before it was too late, I threw my arms in front of me, sending waves of calm forward at a strong enough rate that a shield grew from the gold flowing out of my hands, protecting the five men behind me as well as Elijah and Nik. A second later, the lights went out and multiple vampires tried to rush forward to feed on the bleeding humans, but it was no use; my shield was keeping them out easily. I could hear Elijah and Nik healing the individuals behind me and when the lights came on I dropped the shield instantly, noticing that the vampires who had tried to attack were lying on the floor, unconscious, but everyone else looked fine; I couldn't sense any pain. I vaguely registered Nik and Elijah compelling the musicians to leave and forget everything that they had witnessed, as a message on the mirror directly across from me caught my eye and I made my way over to it, picking up the smell of the fumes that suggested it was red spray paint before I had come to a complete stop. It read:

THERE WILL BE NO PEACE.

I shook my head, annoyed; there was no question as to who was behind this: Marcel Gerard. He was trying to create a rift in between the species and start a war seeing as he had been banished from the quarter. He was probably missing ruling the city like he once had. I felt Nik come up behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist and his hands resting on my baby bump.

'You saved the day, yet again.' He commented, kissing my temple.

'Marcel is playing with fire,' I murmured, my hands resting over his as I leaned back into his embrace.

'Indeed.' He agreed, turning me around and away from the offensive graffiti, my hands wound around his neck to accommodate the new position, 'but Elijah has gone to deal with that, he's assured me he won't kill him but he will be punished accordingly. I'm sure it would have been a much greater penalty if he had succeeded in making the vampires break their vow tonight.'

'Definitely. Elijah would have been furious. We all would have.' I agreed, resting my head on his shoulder, my eyes drooping.

'Come on love, I think you and our littlest wolf have had enough excitement for one day,' Nik murmured, bending down and picking me up bridal style; I didn't complain he was right I was exhausted and most definitely ready for bed.

I was grateful that he took us to our bedroom via the more secluded route seeing as the party was still in full swing downstairs; now that the bleeding humans had been removed the vampires were completely fine and saw no reason to not continue the party. Once we reached our room Nik gently put me on my feet, turning to close the double doors behind him before applying the lock. I wasted no time in stripping off my dress, undoing the zip on the side and stepping out of it and into one of Nik's shirts; it was a little tight over my stomach but my own clothes weren't even close to fitting me anymore. I kicked off my shoes, rubbed off my make up with a wet wipe and pulled the pins out of my hair before I got into bed, grateful when Nik joined me a few seconds later. He pulled me against his chest and I nuzzled into him, inhaling, happy when sleep claimed me not minutes later.

 **There's chapter thirty nine! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Until next time :)**

 **Mili:Pffft ur the writer make it happen lol jk** _ **They'll be back together eventually I promise :)**_

 **A HUGE thank you to pinky-pie, sdhjpgw7, Krissy92, AnsCat, Mari Wollsch and UniqueGeek for choosing to either favorite or follow my story- it means a lot! :)**


	40. Bayou Doctor

Chapter Forty

'Rebekah you of all people know what a conniving bitch she can be-' I muttered into my phone, exasperated that she couldn't just let it go.

'Kimmie, you are the only one in our family, besides Hayley, who can carry a child. Though if she does become pregnant it won't be by Elijah. Don't take it for granted; you need to take care of my little niece or nephew. Going to a few doctors appointments won't kill you.' Bekah said, her tone pleading.

'I don't have a good feeling about this,' I told her honestly.

'That's all the more reason to go- there could be something wrong with the baby.' She argued.

'Fine.' I caved and hung up the phone just as Nik and Elijah walked through the door, both wearing matching expressions of amusement.

'Is everything alright, Kimberly?' Elijah asked, his lips twitching.

'How is it that Bekah can still bully me from a different country?' I muttered, not really looking for an answer.

'Our sister has many talents, some more useful than others…' Elijah trailed off, seeing to lose his train of thought as a smile formed on his face. I could sense his amusement and I wondered what he was thinking about but I decided not to pry; this was the first time I'd seen him _really_ smile since Hayley left.

'Where were you both anyway? I woke up and you were both gone.' I said, looking over to Nik, my expression more than likely one of displeasure.

I had woken up alone this morning; I knew Nik hadn't been gone long because his side of the bed was still warm. But I knew that neither of them was at the compound; I couldn't sense them. With Nik being gone I decided to just get up; I threw on a baby pink body-con dress and flats, seeing as that was all I could fit into any more. After grabbing one of the blood bags from the kitchen that contained Nik's blood I wondered into the study, thinking about continuing my search on witches; ever since I had found out that Ester was sending Genevieve after our baby I had been pouring myself into research to see if I could find any kind of weakness that could be used against either of them. So far I'd had no luck, but that wasn't stopping me from giving up. I had been reading for about an hour when Bekah called.

'Sorry, love. Genevieve requested a meeting and seeing as you're not the fondest of her I thought it best to leave you out of it.' Nik explained, coming to stand beside me, his arm going around my waist while his lips placed a tender kiss on my temple.

'Okay, what did she want?' I asked, leaning into Nik's side.

'She's requested that we throw a festival for the witches, in light of our new treaty.' Nik murmured, his thumb moving back and forth softly over my hip.

'What did you say?' I inquired.

'We said we'd think it over and get back to her.' Elijah said, his voice soft as he sat down in one of the armchairs while Nik and I remained standing.

'As much as I hate the bitch- we can't enforce a treaty and then be prejudiced towards one of the species. We should allow the festival.' I reluctantly said.

'Well from the sounds of it we need to be on her good side anyway.' Nik chuckled when I groaned.

'Yeah, apparently I'm going to the bayou doctor.' My voice lacked enthusiasm, but it was hard to be keen when I knew something was going to happen.

'Elijah can handle the festival and I'll take you to the appointment, love. If something is going to happen I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself and our baby alone.' Nik said, his tone becoming dark at the idea of anyone wanting to harm the baby or me.

'Whatever it is, we can handle it.' I assured him, because we could just as we always did.

'I'll make the call and the appointment.' Elijah offered, pulling his phone from his blazer pocket, dialling the number then holding it to his ear, 'ah, Genevieve!...'

I tuned out, not wanting to hear her voice because I knew it would just make me mad, an effect that only she had on me. Instead I turned to face Nik, my arms linking around his neck while my hands tangled in his hair. I smiled when his eyes closed from the pleasure while he leaned into my touch.

'What have you been up to this morning?' He asked, his eyes still closed.

'Research.' I answered, not wanting to go into it; he already knew how long I had been searching and what I had been looking for.

'I'll take it that you haven't had any luck?' He asked, his eyes opening and looking at me with worry.

'Nope.' I told him, keeping my voice light, my hands moving from his hair to either side of his face.

He looked like he wanted to say something; his beautiful blue eyes were shining with vulnerability, his hands tightened on my waist and his mouth hung slightly open as if he was struggling to find the words. For once, I didn't let him off the hook; usually I wouldn't make him struggle to find the words, but this time I waited patiently, wanting to hear what he had to say.

'I-I will do _everything_ in my power to protect you and our baby, love. I promise.' His voice was low, and I suspected that was because he didn't want it to break from the emotion, 'I can't lose you.'

'I know. And you won't.' I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I leaned forward and placed a soft, tender kiss to his lips, before I pulled back.

'Your appointment is arranged for this evening, Kimberly.' Elijah said.

'Evening? That means she doesn't want me at the festival, and she also knows that if I'm not there then both of you are going to have to be.' I said, crossing my arms over my chest after I had turned to face Elijah.

'It seems you were correct in your assumption after all.' Elijah agreed; he _looked_ calm but I could feel that he was already plotting the different ways he could make Genevieve pay.

'I'm going with you; I don't bloody care about missing this party. Elijah, will you be able to handle it on your own?' Nik asked, his hand entwined with mine.

'Yes brother I believe I will be.' Elijah answered, without even looking at him and I sensed hostility coming from Elijah towards Nik that I hadn't noticed before.

'You should know, Genevieve has been sniffing around for our mothers grimoire. If I were you I would set a trap.' Nik offered.

'I have a better idea, brother.' This time the disdain towards Nik was clear and I frowned, looking in between them both.

'What is going on?' I asked.

'It seems, while our dear Niklaus was very good at pretending he wanted nothing more than this treaty being enforced, he had no problem deceiving us both in order to break it.' Elijah said.

'Okay, can you be less evasive please and just _tell_ me what is going on instead of dancing around it.' I muttered, running my free hand through my hair.

'He's been meeting with Jackson and Genevieve, making a deal it seems that will more than likely annoy the humans and vampires of the quarter.' Elijah said, picking an invisible piece of lint from his leg as I yanked my hand from Nik's, glaring at him when I felt that Elijah was telling the truth.

'Why?' I demanded.

'The werewolves are weak, they aren't equally matched against the vampires so I offered them a little something to help them with the full moon business.' Nik smirked, and I rolled my eyes at his demeanour.

I could sense that he was worried at my reaction, as well as Elijah's and he felt genuinely guilty about it. But while he was getting better at dealing with his emotions, he still wasn't brilliant, which meant we weren't going to get anywhere with this discussion while he was wearing his cocky I-don't-care-about-anyone's-opinion-I-do-what-I-want-when-I-want demeanour. I threw my hands up in frustration.

' _I_ am going to talk to the wolves in the bayou. _You_ can come and find me when you haven't got up this arrogant front to protect yourself because you actually feel _bad_ for what you have done. Maybe then we can have an actual discussion about what we are going to do about this.' I said, my voice low and ice cold.

I saw Nik's mask crack just a little before I turned and walked out of the room without another word. I could feel Elijah following behind me, but I we didn't talk as we got into the Range Rover, Elijah in the drivers seat. I assumed he wanted to talk to Hayley about the festival while I wanted to shout at Jackson for being an idiot. We were five minutes away from the wolves' camp when I spoke.

'We should be the ones to tell the humans and the vampires. If they don't know about it and werewolves start popping up with magical rings that allow them the ability to deliver a venomous bite, everyone will be furious.' I murmured, my hand rubbing clockwise circles over my bump, 'I'll call Thierry-,' I started, but stopped when I felt how uncomfortable Elijah was when I bought up his name.

'Thierry will more than likely be indisposed…' Elijah admitted somewhat guiltily.

'You killed him? Why?' I demanded, trying not to raise my voice too much.

'He was conspiring with Marcel and helped him with the attack last night. Marcel revealed information about Niklaus and his suspicious activity, so I couldn't kill him. To make him pay I killed Thierry in front of him.' Elijah said, his voice soft but firm; he wasn't going to make any kind of apology over what he had done.

'You talk about Nik not wanting to keep this treaty, but I don't know how you can be so comfortable on your high horse when your solution is to just kill those who oppose you. You may be unkillable, Elijah but that doesn't mean that you can treat those who aren't as disposable. Peace will never be kept that way. For a smart man you can be so dense.' I said, my voice was barely above a whisper as I tried to control the rage that was simmering in my blood- why was it that both Mikaelson men had to piss me of monumentally within half an hour?

I climbed out of the car, slamming the door on his surprised expression, but of course he collected himself quickly and was soon walking beside me, keeping up with my angry pace easily. I didn't really want to storm into the camp with how pissed off I was in that moment, so I was glad when Hayley and Jackson both came to greet us.

'Hey you two, what's going on?' Hayley was cheerful at first but when she noticed how angry I was she became concerned. That's when I knew; she didn't know about Jackson's secret deal with Klaus either.

'Nothing aside from the fact that your alpha has been making secret deals with Klaus.' I said, my tone eerily calm and I heard Jackson swallow nervously.

'Listen this isn't really any of your…' he trailed off when my glare intensified.

'Actually I think you'll find this _is_ my business seeing as Klaus doesn't particularly care if you live or die. Sure he's offering you a magic ring to stop you turning every full moon and to allow you to access your heightened strength all the time. But do you really think that it's going to come without a cost?' I said, annoyed over the whole situation.

'Jack, what did you do?' Hayley asked, sounding disappointed in him.

'I'll leave you both to think this over, and I really suggest you do. I've given you my warning but I cant stop you.' I said, holding up my hands and leaving Elijah to talk to them about the festival as I made my way back to the car.

The anger that had started to grow inside me when I found out about Nik's betrayal had only continued to flourish. I felt like I either needed to hit something or scream to let it all out, but I didn't think either of those were good options in that moment. I couldn't believe he had done this. Usually when he acted out, I could understand _why_. But this… I just couldn't think of a valid reason as to why he would betray the treaty not twenty-four hours after he looked me in the eye and signed it himself. Could it have something to do with protecting the baby? When he had told me earlier that he was going to do everything in his power to protect our baby, he had been telling the truth. Maybe that was what this was about? He wanted the wolves to be indebted to him so that he could use them at his disposal to protect our child. Even if that was the case, the wolves wouldn't be enough and he knew that. We needed the witches, the humans and the vampires to be on our side as well, which they wouldn't be if they found out he had been conspiring to make the wolves stronger than the vampires. They would see it as a threat, and he would start a war. I shook my head with a sigh, noticing for the first time that the anger that had been rushing through my veins was gone, almost as if it hadn't been there to begin with.

 _You need to stop making excuses for him. You need to wait for him to explain himself._

Just as the thought had stopped running though my mind, the drivers side door opened and Elijah slid in to the seat.

'Kimberly-,' Elijah started but he cut himself off, seeming lost for words, I wondered if that was a Mikaelson trait.

'I sincerely apologise for what I did to Thierry. Protecting my family has always been my primary goal, and I have lived on the principle that those who oppose us must die for a thousand years. I want to protect my niece or nephew more than anything and I can assure you that what happened with Thierry will not happen again, from now on I will follow your judgement until I get a sense of how to do it on my own. Forgive me. Please.' Elijah murmured, the honesty I could feel coming from him stunned me to silence as well as his speech.

'I forgive you Elijah. Thank you for saying that, it means a lot.' I told him taking his hand and squeezing it in appreciation before letting go. A small smile formed on his face as he nodded to me before clearing his throat and starting the car's engine.

When we arrived home, Nik wasn't anywhere to be found which was both a relief and an annoyance. I was relived that I wouldn't have to face him because I didn't want to have another argument. I was annoyed that he would just go off gallivanting, perfectly happy to leave this tension between us. With a shake of my head I went to mine and Nik's room, just wanting to lie down for a bit; because of my supernatural status I didn't _need_ the rest but I wanted to relax and pretend that everything that had happened this morning was a mere nightmare that hadn't escaped into my reality.

Was this how it was always going to be? Him going behind my back to form secret alliances and not telling me because he knew I wouldn't approve of his intentions? I didn't know how long I could deal with that before I reached the point of not being able to forgive him. I had already forgiven him for so much in the year that I had known him; sacrificing Elena, trying to sacrifice Caroline and Tyler, using me and Stefan as a bargaining chip for the cure, trying to bribe Davina with her first love's life… The list seemed endless and usually, one betrayal was enough for me to turn my back on someone for good, but with Nik that was different.

I loved him with everything that I was and I knew that if I turned my back on him, I would be turning my back on half of myself, and I didn't know if I would survive that. I didn't know if I could survive without him, period. I mean I can't even sleep without him being in bed with me, the only blood I can feed on while I am pregnant is his, not to mention the fact that I am completely in love with the man. I knew that even though we were mates and essentially "made for each other" we still had free will, meaning I didn't _have_ to be with him if I didn't want to. I also knew that leaving him was the last thing I wanted to do, ever. He was my soul mate, my other half. He knew me better than anyone else ever had and he understood me in a way even Elena didn't. He was my best friend, the one I could talk to about _anything_ and it was because of that, that I couldn't even imagine going behind his back the way that he keeps doing with me. Which was why it hurt so much that he could do it to me without even flinching.

I just wanted him to talk to me and to not go behind my back- was that too much to ask? I had no idea; I had never even been interested in another person before Klaus, much less in a relationship. I didn't know that the protocol was, and this was the first time we had been in an actual fight. Was I supposed to go after him or wait for him to come to me? Would he come to me? I knew how angry and stubborn he got when people disappointed him and opposed him. But he was the one who had gone behind _my_ back and I refused to be the one to broach the silence first. I was going to leave it to him.

'Kimberly?' Elijah's voice broke through my inner ramblings and I looked up to see him stood at the doorway of mine and Klaus' bedroom. I was lying on my back on the bed; I swung my legs to the side, allowing me to sit up so I could look at him.

'Yes?' I answered, suddenly realising how dark it had gotten.

'Your appointment with the bayou doctor is in half an hour.' He told me.

'Oh.' I murmured, standing up and ignoring the nagging in my chest; Klaus was supposed to take me and he wasn't here. I had told him that I had a bad feeling about this appointment and he couldn't look past his quarrels with me to go with me. I felt anger and hurt start to form in my stomach.

'I can accompany you, if you'd like.' Elijah offered, noticing the turmoil on my expression.

'You need to go to the festival.' I reminded him, as if he weren't already aware.

'Yes well, I think they can cope with me being a little late.' Elijah said, his lips twitching in amusement.

'I appreciate the offer, really. But I'll be okay.' I smiled at him, I was genuinely grateful for his offer and it meant a lot that he was there for me when Nik was being an ass, he truly was like the big brother I had always wanted, and I loved him for it.

'Very well. If anything happens, call me.' He said, handing me the keys to his car before he turned and left.

I could sense that he wasn't at all affected by me not wanting him there and I couldn't hold back my sigh of relief. Deciding not to bother with changing my clothes, I went to grab my leather jacket from the closet and then hesitated when I noticed Nik's leather jacket hanging up next to mine. Without giving it another thought I pulled his jacket from the hanger and put it on, happy that it was still a little baggy on me despite my huge baby bump, but that might have had something to do with the fact that I hadn't zipped it up. It smelled like him and I bought the collar to my nose, inhaling deeply before I snapped out of it, grabbing my phone from the nightstand and shoving it into one of the pockets. I kept the keys that Elijah had given me out as I headed towards his Range Rover that was parked in the garage. When I got behind the wheel, I locked the doors behind me and adjusted the seat to accommodate for my height and my baby bump. Once I was finished, I put the address Elijah had texted me into the built in GPS and set off. The drive wasn't long, maybe thirty minutes, but when I reached the cabin that was literally in _the middle of nowhere_ I wanted to turn around and leave before I had even come to a complete stop. I just _knew_ this wasn't going to end well, but I also knew that I was more than capable of protecting my baby despite whatever they had planned, and that was why I got out of the car and locked it behind me. The sound of the central locking sounded extremely loud as I pocketed the keys and made my way to the wooden door. I supposed it was nice and serene in a "this is a perfect house for serial killers" kind of way. I took a deep breath and knocked three times, my hearing focused on the other occupants on the house, but I realised with a start that I couldn't hear _anything_ coming from inside, and that was even more concerning. Either I had the wrong address- which I _knew_ wasn't the case- or a privacy spell had been placed over the property- my gut was telling me that the latter was the winning explanation. Before I had too much time to contemplate the implications, the door swung open revealing an African-American woman a few years older than me. Her hair was long and straight, her eyes brown and startlingly cold. I didn't like her.

'You must be Kimberly Mikaelson. We've been expecting you.' She smiled in what I assumed was supposed to be a warm way, but it made my blood turn cold and my stomach clench.

I was definitely in trouble. As if the baby agreed with me, a sudden blinding pain over me, originating in my stomach. I wasn't expecting it, and the shock caused me to double over as my hands cradled my stomach. The woman took advantage of that, her hand coming over my shoulders and guiding me inside, the door closing it behind her while the blinding pain continued.

'Let's get you up on the table shall we? See what's going on.' The woman mumbled, somehow managing to get me up onto a standard doctors chair in the middle of a fairly modest consulting room. She wheeled over a screen, lifting a horse shoe-shaped wand and adding a clear gel to the top of it. When she was satisfied with the amount she turned on the screen and lifted up my body con dress, leaving me virtually half naked as she left it to rest just under my breasts, but in that moment I didn't care. I needed to know the baby was okay. I gasped through the pain when I heard the sound coming from the monitor.

 _Thump thump thump._

I had heard it before with my own ears, but hearing it while I was seeing grey shadows that resembled a mini-human, I couldn't deny the emotion catching in my throat. I was going to be a mother. Klaus was going to be a father, and he was missing this. He should be here.

'Well. It looks like you have been blessed.' The doctor murmured, seeming to be thinking aloud before she caught herself, looking over to me with a bright smile, 'you are carrying twins. I'd say you were eight months along. Congratulations. Would you like to know the genders?'

'Yes.' I found myself saying, my voice barely above a whisper, though my mind was _reeling_ TWINS? I bit back a snort when I imagined how Nik was going to react to that.

'You have a boy and a girl.' She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, she pressed a few more buttons and walked over to the printer by her computer on the wall to the left of me. Once she had collected the paper she walked back over to me, handing me several copies of the same picture. Pictures of my babies. I carefully placed them into the inside pocket of Klaus' jacket, pulling down my dress afterwards. I winced as I pulled the dress down over my bump, not caring about the clear gel that remained. I needed to get out of here; something was wrong.

'Thank you, but I need to go. I am expected at the festival tonight.' I lied to her- I had no plans to go but she didn't need to know that. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I carefully pulled it out responding carefully so that she didn't notice.

 _Nik: Where are you love? Why are you in pain?_

 _Me: At the bayou doctor. She's up to something. I think the pain is a warning from the babies; it started as soon as I got here._

I quickly put my phone away as she turned around, I felt my phone vibrate with a reply but I ignored it, not wanting to antagonise her; I could sense that she was impatient and I could feel her strain at having to act so calm. She wasn't planning to let me leave.

'Actually, I believe the babies are in distress and I have something I can give you, to help slow your blood pressure and hopefully calm down both children.' The woman said, holding up a syringe that held a light purple liquid, but I knew she was lying.

'Sorry but I prefer tablets.' I told her casually, wondering if I had the strength to dash away with the pain that was traveling through my body- it was worse than Tunde's blade. But I had to focus, taking a deep breath I channelled the pain the babies were giving me towards her, when she keeled over in agony, I took the syringe and jabbed it into her neck. When she fell into unconsciousness a second later I shook my head in annoyance over what she had planned to do. Without wasting another moment I went to walk out into the living room, knowing the front door was near there but I paused when I heard deep voices talking.

'How long do you think she's going to take?' One asked, sounding nervous.

'I don't know, I don't envy her though, injecting an Original with a sedative combined with a poison would be virtually impossible.' The other replied and my fists clenched in anger, they were trying to kill my babies.

'It's fine; she doesn't have anywhere to go. There's a boundary spell placed around the cabin.' The first man said.

I huffed in frustration at this new information. This meant only one thing; to protect my babies and me I was going to have to fight, and with how angry I was at them in that moment, it wasn't going to be a problem. I took a deep breath, wincing at the pain in my gut.

'Listen babies, I get that there's danger but if you want me to be able to do anything about it, you're gonna need to stop hurting mommy.' I murmured to them, gently stroking over my abdomen.

Amazingly, they seemed to listen and the pain disappeared as if it had never been. I pulled open the door and quietly stepped into the other room, grateful for my supernatural eyesight as the living room was completely draped in darkness. The two men were through the other door that was by the staircase, which must have been the kitchen. I stealthily walked over to the front door, opening it slowly, moving my hand over the threshold, only to be met with an invisible barrier. They weren't lying then. I knew they hadn't been, but I was hoping for an easy getaway, but apparently that wasn't going to be the case.

'It's too quiet don't you think?' The first man said, sounding concerned.

'I'll go and check on her.' The second one offered, the sound of a chair scraping on linoleum indicating he was standing up, when I heard his footsteps coming toward the living room, I pushed my back against the wall by the front door, hiding in the shadows. He walked out slowly, the swinging door allowed light to enter the living room for a moment, before it disappeared. I silently stepped behind the man; he was dressed in all black, his blonde shoulder length hair swaying as he walked along. He was bulky, but I could tell from his scent that he wasn't supernatural; he was human, which I found confusing. If they wanted to drug an Original, why was the muscle human? Without giving it too much thought my arm wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air supply. He struggled, but it was to no avail; he couldn't match my strength. After a few more moments he passed out, I dragged him to the same room that the unconscious "doctor" was in silently.

'Caleb?' The first man called out.

Another moment later and he came into the living room too, but he didn't put up as much of a struggle as the first and not even a minute later he joined the room with the other two idiots. I locked the door to the room they were in; if they woke up they would probably be able to get through, but it would give me enough of a heads up that I'd be ready.

I pulled out my phone, noting several missed texts and three missed calls. Two of the missed calls were from Nik, the other Elijah.

 _Nik: I'm on my way._

 _Nik: Love are you alright? The pain has stopped._

 _Elijah: How is the appointment, Kimberly?_

 _Bekah: Did everything go alright with the doctor?_

I sighed, dialling Nik's number, surprised when I could hear it ringing close by. I opened the front door and there he was. I was so relieved to see him that I almost forgot about the barrier spell and flung myself into his arms.

'Nik, thank god you're here. I'm trapped inside.' I told him, trying to push my hand over the threshold to prove it, but also not wanting him to get himself stuck here either.

'Who did this to you?' Nik's blue eyes clouded over in anger, but I knew it was his defence mechanism; I could feel his helplessness as well.

'I'm fine. The doctor and her two human helpers are unconscious in the other room.' I told him casually, wanting to assure him; I may still be angry with him but at that moment I was willing to put it aside.

'It's been bound with salt.' Nik realised after he cast his eyes to the floor, I followed his gaze and realised he was right, but I didn't know why that was a cause for relief.

'When Sophie and I found you, she said that boundary spells could be broken with a potent ingredient. Including the blood of a witch.' Klaus murmured, his voice soft; he didn't know how I would handle this information.

My hand went to my stomach protectively, but I knew that at the moment, the babies and I were sharing the same blood, and because the baby was a quarter witch it meant that while I was carrying them I was too. By blood at least. I bought my quadbrid face forward and bit into my wrist, holding it over the salt boundary, watching in fascination as it began to bubble. I didn't know how much blood it would take to break the whole boundary around the cabin so I startled when my wrist was suddenly grabbed and I was pulled out of the premises. But then I was in Nik's arms and nothing mattered anymore. I was calm and I felt like I could finally breathe again. Nik's arms wound around my waist his forehead rested on my shoulder while my face rested in the crook of his neck, both of us taking a moment to calm our racing hearts and allowing ourselves to be comforted by each other's scent.

'We should go.' I murmured after a while, but I made no effort to move out of his arms. Fighting with him was exhausting and I hated it. When he was holding me I was somehow able to forget my anger and I didn't want to be reminded of it just yet.

'Elijah is on his way. He's going to question the people who were stupid enough to think they could take on a quadbrid single-handedly and win.' Nik replied, his voice soft as his hand stroked my hair gently.

'Okay, but I think they were put up to it. I could sense their panic and like you said, they're all human so they didn't stand a chance. But with the boundary spell they've obviously had the help of a witch.' I said, my voice barely able to be heard as I whispered the words into his neck. I felt him shudder in response and I couldn't help my delight that even though we were in a fight I could still get him to respond to me.

'Let's get you home, love.' He kissed my forehead and pulled me to his side, his arm wrapped around my waist as we walked to the car I had drove here. I didn't question his lack of vehicle, assuming that he had ran here. I handed him the keys when he got into the drivers seat, allowing myself to lie back in the seat and relax. It had been a long day. When we were about five minutes from home, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and I pulled it out, the caller I.D. telling me it was Elijah, I answered immediately knowing he was probably worried.

'Hey Elijah.' I murmured into the phone, my head resting on Nik's shoulder.

'Kimberly,' he said, his voice dripping with relief, 'you're okay.'

'I'm fine.' I assured him, 'the same cannot be said for the three humans who tried to take me down though.'

'Yes I imagined that would be the case. I have arrived at the address Niklaus provided me with and I can assure you that the three scoundrels are still out cold.' Elijah said, sounding amused.

'Well, be careful. I think that a certain red headed witch was behind this but you never know.'

'I'll be fine, Kimberly I'm sure.' He said and I could tell he was smiling before he hung up.

I put my phone back in my jacket pocket and snuggled closer to Nik, well as close as I could get without falling off my seat. I could feel his amusement and affection grow the closer I tried to get to him.

'What's so funny?' I asked, trying not to pout as we pulled into the compound.

He waited until he had parked the car and the garage door had closed before answering me, 'you,' he murmured huskily, his face not even an inch from mine. My eyes closed in pleasure when he leaned down and gently nibbled on my protruding bottom lip; I guess I was pouting more than I thought. His tongue moved over my lip afterwards, taking away the sting his teeth had left behind. He went to move away from me, but I didn't let him get far; my hands tangled in his curls holding him exactly where he was. I saw him smirk before my mouth crashed over his, my own teeth nibbling on his lower lip; I couldn't help my own smirk when he released a hungry growl. His hands went to my hair, one hand grabbing a fist full and gently pulling my head back, allowing him the room to slant his mouth over mine. We both groaned when we realised we couldn't do much more in such a confined space, I had the feeling he was about to take me and flash me to our room, but we were interrupted by a phone vibrating. My phone.

'Ignore it.' Klaus murmured, his lips kissing along my jaw, down to my neck.

'It might be important,' I told him, yet I was unable to move away, not wanting to deny myself the pleasure that only he could supply.

He paused on his exploration, sighing softly against my collarbone, placing a soft kiss there before he pulled back, knowing how important this was to me. I gave him a look that was a combination of lust and gratitude.

'Hello?' I murmured into the phone.

'Kimberly, I hope this is a good time.' Genevieve responded, making my blood run cold.

'Genevieve. What can I do for you?' I asked, my teeth gritting involuntarily due to my complete hate towards the woman.

'I was calling to let you know that due to Elijah and Klaus' horrific actions this evening, I will not help Camille with the hex on her uncle.' She sounded utterly smug and a little pissed off.

'We both know you wouldn't have been able to help him anyway, Genevieve, so don't act like it's any skin off your back.' I muttered, hanging up the phone not wanting to hear whatever response she managed to knit together.

'What happened tonight?' I demanded, looking over to Klaus, wanting him to explain himself. He opened the driver's side door and climbed out, flashing to the passenger side and offering me his hand to help me out, which I took. He kept my hand linked with his as he led me further into the house, stopping in the courtyard.

'Nik, what happened?' I asked again, not even trying to hide the frustration that had managed to seep into my tone.

'Genevieve sent someone to steal my mother's grimoire while we were at the festival. I laid a trap and removed the thief's hands before killing him. When I returned to the party, I noticed that Davina was being ignored so I singled her out and gave her the spell for daylight rings for her friend Josh. Then I gifted Genevieve the hands of the thief she sent to steal from me. Needless to say, she wasn't too pleased.' Klaus told me, not at all ashamed of his actions, though I did feel a little bad for the man whose hands had been removed.

'So you offended her and now she won't help Cami?' I clarified; when he nodded I had to bite back a scream of rage for the red headed bitch.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Cami's number, hating what I was going to have to tell my friend. This morning when I was doing my research, I had discovered something that made a knot form in my stomach, I had been about to deliver the news to Cami myself when Bekah had called and distracted me.

'Hey, Kim.' Cami answered, sounding defeated.

'Hey, Cami. Klaus just told me what happened, I'm so sorry.' I said, and I meant it, I wished there was a way to help her uncle but the truth of the matter was that there wasn't.

'It's not your fault; you have nothing to apologise for. Klaus was the one who-' She started, but I interrupted her not wanting her to blame Klaus for too long.

'Actually, Genevieve was the one who was lying to you Cami. I've been looking into witches the past couple of weeks and this morning I found out a little more on witches and their hexes. Cami, when a witch casts a hex, it cannot, under any circumstances be undone. I am **so** sorry.' My voice was soft as I tried to fight back the tears; I could sense her complete and utter heartbreak and I felt my own crack for her. She didn't deserve this.

'Oh.' Was all she said.

'Do you want me to come over?' I asked her, my hand squeezing Nik's gratefully as he wound his fingers through mine.

'Thank you, but I just want to be alone right now.'

'Okay, if you need anything I want you to call me.' I told her, before I hung up, knowing she wanted the space.

With a deep breath, I turned back to Nik, my face shifting into a frown as I thought over this morning's events.

'Why did you do it?' I asked quietly, trying to hide the hurt in my voice, but my attempts were pointless; he could sense my pain as if it were his own.

'I'm sorry, love.' He said, and I could feel he meant it, 'I just wanted the wolves to have a chance to be empowered, after all they've been through, after all they have to go through every full moon, they deserve to have some control over what they are. And if we are going to have an army to protect our baby then they need to **all** be strong.'

'Why didn't you tell me about it?'

'Because I didn't think you'd approve, I thought if I could get it done without you finding out until it was finished, you'd have the chance to see what a good idea it is.' He murmured, hanging his head in shame.

I bought my hands to either side of his face, gently forcing him to meet my gaze, hating the storm that I saw swirling in his blue orbs.

'You think that I'm never worried about your reaction to anything that I propose? Because I am. But I tell you anyway, because that's what relationships are about; we're supposed to believe in each other enough that we can lay our vulnerabilities bare. We're supposed to trust one another not to take advantage and help us find a better way, or support us if there is no other way. We do not go behind one another's back because we are afraid of the reaction we are going to get.' I told him, my voice firm; I wanted him to trust me, but I knew it wasn't something I could just demand, it had to come from him.

His eyes changed from stormy, to vulnerable, to determined to adoration in a nanosecond, but I knew when he landed on the latter, he was with me. He nodded and kissed my forehead, his own hands resting on my bump.

'How did it go with the doctor?' He asked, pulling me towards the sofa. He sat down first before tugging me lightly so I landed next to him, when I was comfy he bought my feet to his lap, pulled my shoes off and started to gently massage my feet, making a moan erupt from my throat before I answered him.

'The babies are healthy.' I told him, realising my mistake when his hands froze on my feet, I opened my eyes and saw the complete panic and confusion on his face.

'Did you just say _babies_?' He asked, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear even with my supernatural hearing.

'Uh… yes' I said, not sure how he was going to take this, but he just stared straight into my eyes, his expression and his body completely frozen. I couldn't help but snort when I thought about Ross having the exact same reaction when Rachel told him she was pregnant on Friends. But after a while it was just plain creepy.

'Nik?' I murmured, pulling my feet off his lap and leaning forward so that I was only an inch away from his face, but nothing changed.

When half an hour passed and he didn't move a muscle, despite my best efforts, I decided to call in reinforcements.

'Elijah?' I murmured into the phone.

'Kimberly, I am just about to come home now.' He informed me.

'Okay great, hurry up please I need your help.' I told him, hanging up the phone.

When he arrived he looked raring for a fight, but when he saw no intruders he met my gaze, his brown orbs shining with confusion. He opened his mouth, probably about to ask what was wrong, but I just gestured to Nik in explanation.

'What's wrong with him?' He asked, kneeling next to his brother and looking thoroughly concerned.

'I told him about my doctors appointment and he just… froze,' I said, my arms crossed over my chest as Elijah came to stand beside me, both of us regarding Nik.

'Is there something wrong with the baby?' Elijah asked, alarmed.

'If I tell you, do you promise not to do that?' I said, pointing over to Nik who hadn't given any indication that he was aware of his brother's presence.

Elijah nodded, I wasn't completely convinced but I decided to tell him anyway; I could fell his worry.

'Me and Nik are having twins.' I bit my lip as I regarded Elijah's reaction, nervous that I was about to have two frozen Mikaelson's on my hands.

'Twins?' Elijah repeated, looking like he was testing the word, when I nodded he returned the gesture and looked over to Nik once more, understanding shining from him. He kneeled in front of Nik, placing a hand on his shoulder before he closed his eyes. I frowned, not understanding what was happening, and then it hit me; Elijah was going into his mind to reach him. When neither of them appeared to me moving anytime soon, I shrugged and grabbed one of the books on witches I hadn't finished yet, getting comfortable on the sofa, my legs once again resting on Nik's lap. It was going to be a long night.

 **Klaus' POV**

 _Babies? We were having TWINS? How was that even possible? I was starting to get used to the idea of one baby, but two? Surely that doubles my chances of screwing up? Kimberly deserves a better partner, a better mate, and a better father for our children. I don't know what a good father looks like. Mikael had been a complete beast, the only things he was able to teach me was how to be afraid and how to run. What could I possibly teach two babies? They were undoubtedly going to be just as broken as I was, and Kimberly would never forgive me for that._

' _Niklaus.' I started at the voice that suddenly invaded my thoughts, but when I saw it was Elijah I relaxed._

' _Hello brother.' I answered, sending him a nod._

' _You have Kimberly rather worried. From what she's told me you haven't moved for an hour.' Elijah murmured, coming to sit next to me on the soft grass that I was suddenly sitting on. That's when I realised what he was doing; he was in my mind and constructing a peaceful scenery in order to calm me down._

' _Twins, brother. Twins. How can I be a good father to_ _ **two**_ _babies?' I asked, him feeling completely and utterly helpless, which was not an emotion I dealt with well._

' _You will be the brilliant father that Kimberly and I know you can be. Your very fear of becoming Mikael will assure that you do not stoop to his evil depths. I can assure you that as a family these children will be cared for and protected more than any other children on this earth.' Elijah promised me, his words and his expression shining with sincerity._

' _I'm scared,' I whispered, hating that I sounded so_ _ **weak**_ _but this was my brother and I knew he would not use it against me._

' _As is any expecting father, Niklaus. I'd be concerned if you weren't afraid. But that fear will drive you to be the best father you can be.' Elijah clapped his hand on my shoulder, causing me to jerk forward a little._

 _I nodded, feeling a little better about the situation. No matter how afraid I was, Kimberly needed me, my children needed me. And I would be there for them no matter what; I just had to trust that my family would stop me if I ever stepped out of line._

 **Kim's POV**

I sighed, slamming the now finished book shut with a thud. I was getting more and more concerned with the minutes that ticked by. What was going on? Why was this taking so long? But I knew how afraid Nik was over this new information; it was cascading from him in waves. For what felt like the millionth time I cursed Mikael for being the abusive dick that he was. If Nik had had a kind and loving father, his fear would be nowhere near as excessive as it was right now. I started when I felt Nik's hands slide up my calves, his touch leaving sparks in its wake.

'You're moving.' I said dumbly, my cheeks flushing a little when he smirked in amusement.

'I'm moving.' He reiterated, his dimples flashing.

'Are you alright?' I asked him, noting his fear has lessened a little.

'I'm terrified,' he told me honestly, and I flashed into his lap, my hands tangling in his curls as I forced him to meet my gaze.

'Me too,' I admitted, he seemed apprehensive for a moment until he saw the emotion shining in my eyes.

'You're going to be a great mother, love.' He assured me, his hands moving back and forth over my sides.

'You're going to be a great father, Nik. I _know_ you are.' I assured him, placing a soft kiss to his lips, amplifying the comfort and assurance I was sending towards him. When I felt his fear lessen considerably I pulled back, sharing a smile with him before I remembered something. I reached into the pocket of his jacket that I was still wearing, pulling out the five copies that the doctor had given me before she tried to kill the babies.

'The doctors appointment wasn't a complete waste. I got these before she tried to attack me.' I handed one to Nik before I handed one to Elijah.

I smiled softly as I observed their expressions, both of them amazed and awed by what they were seeing.

'A boy and a girl.' I murmured softly; I heard Nik's heart skip a beat at the news, my hand running though his curls in a comforting manner.

We all sat together in solace, all content as we took in the sonogram pictures, and I found myself revelling in it. We were a family, always and forever and I knew that we could face anything together, including two babies.

 **A huge thank you to twilightlover4life13, lostboysgirl18, Linkan201, Secundum Fortunam, Lorelai Sofia Petrova, ninaashely, , suziraye, RareBurning, steh371, Beatriz Antunes, gigipadaswan and animexchick for choosing to follow or favourite my story! It means a lot :)**

 **Also I'm really sorry this update took so long, I'm currently tied up with assignments and I will be until the 8** **th** **of January, but I couldn't leave you guys hanging until then. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think lovelies :)**


	41. As The Other Side Crumbles

Chapter Forty One

'I'm going to check on Hayley and the rest of the pack with Elijah.' I said, tying my hair into a bun on top of my head.

'Love, the entire place was just bombed. I don't know if I feel comfortable with you being around that.' Nik murmured into my ear, his breath tickling my neck as his head rested on my shoulder.

'The babies and I will be fine, and the pack need some support right now.' I reminded him, leaning to the side and kissing his jaw comfortingly.

'Why don't I come with you?' He suggested, turning me around and resting his hands on my ever-growing baby bump.

'Because Kieran is getting crazier by the hour and Cami needs your help,' I reminded him, my hands moving gently though his curls.

'Why must you volunteer me for such things.' He rolled his eyes and leaned into my touch while I laughed lightly.

'You know you care about her, Nik. Of all people, you can't fool me.' I told him, catching his lips in a sort but passionate kiss, 'I have to go. Let me know how everything goes with Cami.'

'I will do, love.' He assured me, gently kissing me cheek before I left.

Hayley had called Elijah this morning, in complete panic because someone had driven to the Bayou on a bike as a suicide bomber. The casualty count hadn't been too bad, but I had a feeling things had the potential to get a lot worse, so when I arrived I told Jackson that until the campsite could be deemed safe again everyone needed to evacuate. He agreed and put my plan into motion, and everyone seemed to be alright with it, aside from one person. Oliver. I had a bad feeling about that certain individual, but decided to put it on the backburner until the whole bomber danger was over and done with.

'What are you thinking?' Elijah asked me as we ushered the last pack members towards Jackson's grandmother's house.

When everyone was gone, Elijah and I hung back along with Hayley.

'That it doesn't make any sense. If you're going to target a werewolf pack with bombs then why would you do it at the quietest time of day with hardly anyone around? Unless…' I led off cocking my brow in Elijah's direction as I waited for him to connect the dots.

'Unless they weren't the targets.' Elijah realised, looking over to the trailer where Hayley usually slept, I followed his gaze and saw the bomb strapped to the bottom of it the same time he did.

'Kim! Hayley!' Elijah yelled, grabbing us both and flashing us away just before the explosion went off.

'Shit.' Hayley gasped, noticing the black cloud of smoke coming from the direction of the campsite.

'Whoever it was, was after you and Jackson.' I informed her as I leaned against a nearby tree; the sudden exit had made me a little dizzy.

'Oliver made a comment about vampires being behind it.' Hayley said, looking angrier by the second, I sent a wave of calm towards her out of reflex.

'I can assure you, no one in the quarter-,' Elijah started but Hayley cut him off.

'I'm not talking about anyone in the quarter, Elijah. Marcel has had a problem with being banished and after that stunt he pulled at the party, I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind this too.' Hayley huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

'If he is the one who was behind this, I can assure you he will be dealt with-,' the oldest vampire was cut off again by the pissed off werewolf.

'We should go and see him.' Hayley insisted, leading us towards where I had parked the car I had drove here.

'Sure.' I shrugged, I had a feeling that Marcel wasn't the one who was behind this, but I could feel Hayley's anger and I would prefer to not be on the receiving end of it, so I decided to keep quiet and let her ride it out.

When we reached the apartment across the river, I told Elijah to stay in the car seeing as the last time he had been in the same room as Marcel, he had killed his best friend. Elijah tried to protest, but I had given him a look that told him not to argue. As Hayley and I entered the apartment I gripped her hand, amplifying the calm I was sending towards her, with the hope that I could diffuse the situation before her werewolf temper got the best of her.

'Well, well, well, I knew I should be expecting you, Hayley. But… Kimberly this is a pleasant surprise.' Marcel smirked, filling up two glasses with whiskey and handing one to Hayley, 'I would offer you a drink, but I don't have anything expecting mothers can have.'

'I wouldn't have accepted anyway. Just tell us what you know about the bombings in the Bayou and we'll be on our way,' I smirked right back at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

'I have to say… I am fascinated by this impending child.' Marcel ignored that I had spoken completely, 'tell me… how is that even possible? You're both immortal and even if you had been pregnant before you were turned the baby wouldn't have survived.'

'It's killing you isn't it?' I grinned, walking slowly forward and coming to a stop a step away from him.

'I'm looking into it. It's only a matter of time before I figure it out, sweetheart and if you play nice I can stop the others from finding out.' Marcel bargained, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.

'Are you blackmailing me?' I laughed, genuinely amused.

'I'm bargaining with you,' he deliberately forced his tone to sound casual but I could practically smell the curiosity and deceit coming from him.

'Well I'm not interested, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have the balls to say any of this if Nik were here.' I paused to read his expression and was pleased when I saw his smile slip a little as the fear grew within him, 'and just because I refrain from getting violent doesn't mean I won't stoop to it if it's necessary.'

Within a second I had him pinned to the brick wall by his throat. I heard Hayley gasp in surprise before she made her way over to us.

'Now, tell us what you know about the bombings in the Bayou.' I said calmly.

Marcel laughed and held up his hands, 'okay, okay. It wasn't any of my guys, last I heard the guy who blew himself up owed a lot of money to Palace Royale casino, but as of today his debt has been erased.'

'The same Palace Royale casino that's owned by Francesca Correa?' Hayley asked from my right.

'The very same.' Marcel confirmed, seeing as I could sense that he was telling the truth I released my hold on his throat and let him slowly slide down the wall.

'Great, thanks see you around.' I said, turning to leave and grabbing Hayley's hand to assure she came with me. We had just reached the door when Marcel called out over to us.

'People are going to come to see you, you know. They will want to see the miracle baby with their own two eyes, witches will be interested, some even threatened. You're going to need all the firepower you can get.' Marcel said, and surprisingly I could sense concern coming from him.

'Be careful,' I said, glancing at him over my shoulder, 'you almost sound like you care.'

'When it involves wacked up witches coming to my town I do care.' Marcel retorted, and I could tell he was telling the truth in that sense.

'If that happens, we'll handle it. We always do.' I gave him a half smile before turning and leaving, hand in hand with Hayley.

'Well that was interesting.' I huffed as I slid into the passenger seat, 'to Francesca Correa, please Elijah I'm anxious to meet her.'

'Kimberly, I'm not sure if that's the best idea given your condition.' Elijah said as he turned on the engine and began driving.

'Okay, Elijah first of all I can handle myself and second of all if it gets violent I'm more than happy to delegate that responsibility to you.' I smiled and elbowed his side encouragingly, when Hayley laughed at my actions, I saw Elijah's lips twitch into a smile.

'Besides, we need her; she can help us tell if she's telling the truth.' Hayley pointed out, taking my side.

'Fine, but if Niklaus complains about this I will let you deal with him.' Elijah conceded.

I rolled my eyes in amusement but agreed to his terms. Ever since I had told Elijah and Nik that the latter and I were having twins, we had decided to keep it a secret. If Genevieve was connected to the ancestors, one of them being Ester, we decided that them only thinking there was one baby could work in our advantage. Both Mikaelson men had been incredibly attentive since finding out I was carrying multiple babies, but I let them get on with it because I knew they were coming from a good place. They cared about me and I wasn't going to yell at them for that, though I was missing the times that they didn't think I was fragile.

'You two take this, I can get a read on her from here.' I muttered, moving the chair so that I was lying down, ignoring the amusement that was coming from the other occupants of the car.

I heard two doors slam and concentrated on the conversation that was happening about ten feet from where I was lying.

'Good evening Francesca.' Elijah greeted, forever the gentleman.

'Elijah. This is an unexpected surprise,' Francesca replied, sounding a little apprehensive, I assumed she had noticed Hayley, 'is their something wrong with the humans?'

'No, your management of the humans has been marvelous.' Elijah said, and I frowned, my eyes still shut; I hadn't known that she had stepped in for the human species of the quarter.

'We're here about the bombings in the Bayou.' Hayley cut in and I was surprised to feel her jealousy as well as her anger, 'the suicide bomber owed a lot of money to Palace Royale casino and as of this morning his slate was wiped clean.'

'Call it a gift of good will,' Francesca responded, but I could smell the lie from where I was.

'I don't think it was,' Hayley retorted.

'Hayley,' Elijah seemed to be warning her and I wondered idly what was going on.

'I think you paid him to blow himself up. And I think you planted the other bombs around the campsite to make _us_ think it was vampires with the hope that we would start a war.' Hayley said, sounding incredibly threatening.

I could feel Francesca's concern that Hayley was on to her plans, and if I didn't have my empathetic abilities, I would have been thrown off by her confident tone, ' _if_ I were behind that, I can assure you I wouldn't have missed.' She continued, probably reading the confusion I could feel coming from Hayley, 'it's obvious they were after you. The new Queen of the Crescent Pack, though I wouldn't be surprised if the first bomb was to draw the pregnant hybrid in for the storm.'

'Are you suggesting that Kimberly was the intended target?' Elijah's voice was overly calm in a way that made his enemies' hair stand on end.

'That's exactly what she's saying,' I muttered, sitting up and stepping out of the car.

Three pairs of eyes rested on me as I made my way down the walkway, coming to a stop next to Hayley.

'Hi. I'm Kimberly Mikaelson I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting.' I said, my tone sickly sweet in a way that made Elijah stand alert- while he sounded calm when he was bloodthirsty I sounded sweet.

'I don't believe we have.' Francesca smiled, though I could feel that she was a little afraid.

'Well I'm sure we'll get along fine as long as you don't send anymore bombers after… well anyone,' I held my hand up as she attempted to deny it, 'we both know you're the one behind it. If I get the smallest inclination that you have been up to anything that may endanger the lives of the people in this town, you will be punished accordingly.'

'Which you're well aware of seeing as you signed to the agreed terms on behalf of the humans.' Elijah pointed out, coming to stand in between Hayley and me in a protective gesture.

'Like I said… If I were behind the bombings,' she eyed me up and down before finishing her thought, 'I wouldn't have missed.' Before we could respond she was gone, closing her front door behind her.

We were walking back to the car when I suddenly felt like someone had dropped a bucket of ice water over me. I suddenly wished I had a jacket or Nik; he was like a radiator and didn't mind me snuggling up to him.

'You're cold?' Elijah said, taking off his jacket and draping it over my shoulders.

'Thanks Elijah,' I murmured climbing into the passenger seat.

Elijah dropped me off at the compound before leaving to take Hayley out to the Bayou. I went straight to the bedroom; the urge to take a bath was overwhelming; I still felt cold to my bones. I had been in the bath for five minutes when a sense of calm washed over me, bringing a certain Hybrid's presence to my attention.

'Hello, love.' Nik murmured huskily from the doorway.

'I'm so glad to see you,' I grinned, indicating for him to join me and in a flash he did, gently pulling me towards him, my back resting against his chest. I heaved out a sigh, finally completely relaxed.

'How was the Bayou?' He asked, his hands gently rubbing up and down my arms as I tilted my head where it rested on his shoulder to place a kiss onto his neck.

I told him everything that had happened: the other bombs, Marcel's involvement- threats and all- Francesca being behind the bombings and her obvious threat to me. I finished with the sudden drop in temperature and Elijah giving me his jacket.

'Well you've clearly had quite the day.' Nik murmured, kissing my hair, his hands resting on my bump, thumbs moving back and forth comfortingly.

'Definitely.' I snorted; I was just about to ask him what had happened with Cami and Kieran when I felt his concern blossoming. I rested my hands on top of his; amplifying the comfort I was sending towards him as I tilted my head to meet his worried blue orbs, 'what's wrong?'

'It appears that there has been a sudden fluctuation in the amount of people who want you and our children dead.' Nik said so quietly that I almost didn't hear him.

'We'll deal with it, Nik,' I assured him, my hand resting on the side of his jaw, my thumb moving back and forth comfortingly, 'we always do, as a family. Always and forever.'

Nik met my eyes and I saw the cloud of worry in his eyes disperse, revealing a clear gaze.

'Always and forever.' He agreed, resting his forehead against mine and placing a tender kiss on my lips.

He then told me everything that happened with Cami and Kieran. Nik feeding Kieran his blood at the blonde's request, Cami getting her final goodbye, the hex taking over Kieran again and leading him to try and kill his niece. With Cami's permission, he killed Kieran and granted Marcel twenty-four hours access to the city to help Cami deal with her grief. The funeral was going to be tomorrow, and Nik had already told her we would be there, knowing I would want to give Cami my support. After putting in a call to check on Davina, I curled up in bed with Nik, on the verge of sleep, me being the little spoon in the cuddle.

'Have you thought about names?' Nik asked suddenly, his breath tickling the side of my neck.

I turned over onto my back so I could meet his gaze, my hand entwining with one of his, 'I have. What about you?'

'I've had a few thoughts.' He admitted, kissing the back of the hand he was holding.

'Care to share?' I said, amused that he was nervous to tell me his baby names.

'Well for our little girl, Elijah said something to me that stuck,' his other hand moved gently over my bump, 'what do you think of… Hope?'

His eyes were unsure but optimistic.

'Hope Mikaelson,' I mused, testing the name on my lips, 'I love it.'

He grinned making me smile and kiss his lips softly.

'For the boy.' Now I was the one that was nervous, 'I was thinking about Henrik.'

I met his gaze, reading the different emotions that passed through him as well as sensing them: the shock, the wonderment until he settled on adoration.

'It's perfect,' he murmured, his tone and eyes soft with emotion.

'I'm glad you think so,' I said, my eyes closing when he kissed my forehead.

 _Later that night_

I coughed again, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. The more I coughed, the more concerned I became; I was a supernatural creature getting sick wasn't normal. I smiled up at Nik as he slid into the booth beside me, he returned the gesture but I could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He had a nightmare last night, about Mikael and the babies and he had been on edge since. Hence the face that he had a bottle of bourbon while I was stuck with iced water. I placed my hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles into the dip of his spine, knowing he needed a moment to sort out his inner ramblings. When Cami slid into the seat across from us I gave her a sad smile and reached over with my free hand to squeeze hers.

'What's wrong with him?' Her chin jutted in my mate's direction and before I could respond Nik glared over to her, making me roll my eyes.

Cami didn't back down and instead rephrased her question, 'I'm in a crap mood because my uncle just died and people are partying like its Mardi Gras. What's your excuse?'

Nik poured some more of the amber liquid into his tumbler, but still seemed hesitant to answer. I took the rest of the bottle while he was distracted and dumped it onto the table behind us; I didn't want him to get to a point that he was stumbling drunk.

'Klaus, seriously what's-,' Cami tried to gently push him and Klaus cut him off with his answer.

'I've been having these dreams,' he looked up to meet the blonde's eye and I realized then and there that they had formed some kind of friendship, 'about my dead father.'

Cami leaned back, her elbows moving from the table and resting on her legs as she regarded the hybrid in front of her. I was starting to wonder if I should be jealous but when I felt the worry similar to what a friend would have for another friend, my reservations simmered.

'No diagnosis necessary, sweetheart.' Klaus rattled off before she could comment and I realized that he was probably used to being assessed by her, 'I've already got this one covered. My fears of fatherhood, of scarring my child as my father scarred me are manifesting as nightmares. So horrifically cliché.' He scoffed, downing the amber liquid in his glass and moving to reach for the bottle. When he realized it was gone he frowned in confusion.

'I'm cutting you off.' I told him gently, offering him some of my water. He didn't look pleased, but he took a sip of my drink before putting it down in front of him nonetheless.

'Truthfully I'm surprised to hear you acknowledge aloud that you're going to be a dad.' Cami said, smiling softly as she regarded the both of us.

'He's going to be a great one.' I said, not an ounce of doubt in my tone. I felt him squeeze my thigh gratefully under the table.

'I know more about the trials of fatherhood than you might imagine, Camille.' Klaus murmured, looking over to the bar. When I followed his gaze and noticed Marcel. I barely bit back a growl.

Cami followed his glance as well and turned back to Klaus, 'and it worked out so well for you the first time. Why change a thing?'

My eyes narrowed at her sarcasm and I was about to give her a piece of my mind when I felt Nik's hold on my thigh become more restraining. I huffed but understood; she was burying her uncle today. She didn't need me biting her head off. But I would revisit that sarcastic comment at a later date. Cami pushed off from the booth and made her way over to Marcel. I turned back to Nik, noting the sad look on his face and bought my hand to his cheek, turning his head so I could rest my forehead against mine.

'We got this.' I assured him, placing a soft kiss to his lips, relieved when he responded.

He regarded me for a moment, I don't know what he was looking for but he must have found it because he nodded and kissed me again. It wasn't long or short, but it was as passionate as we could get in the middle of a crowded bar. I heard someone joining us in the booth again, and Nik must have too, because we both reluctantly pulled away from each other. I looked over to Elijah, giving him a small smile as I rested my head on Nik's shoulder my arm linked around his waist, while his linked around mine.

'Seems rather uncivilized,' Nik said, foregoing the usual greeting and accepting the glass of amber liquid that Elijah pushed his way, 'to laugh and dance around the body of a loved one.'

Elijah finished pouring the bourbon into his glass, screwing the lid back on and placing it on the table before answering him, 'yes. Far better to practice your process of grief, Niklaus. Denial, rage and hording coffins in basements.'

I snorted in surprise, nearly choking on the sip of water I had taken. Elijah came across as all serious and as someone who never laughed, but he had one of the driest senses of humor I had ever come across. Nik patted my back gently, half-heartedly glaring at me, but I could tell he wasn't really mad. Ever since Nik had handed over the daggers, Elijah and the rest of the family let go of the resentment they may have fest towards their sibling. It was often joked about, but Elijah's humor had a habit of sneaking up on you. Said person was looking over to me with mirth in his gaze and a small smile twitching on his lips.

Hayley slid into the booth next to Elijah and before she had even said a word Elijah mock whispered to her, 'I will warn you, Hayley, Niklaus is in a spectacularly foul mood today.'

'Sod off.' Nik answered, taking the bottle from in front of Elijah and pouring himself another glass. I took the bottle when he was done and placed it on the table behind us again.

'What's the deal with these moonlight rings?' Hayley asked, glancing around to make sure no one was listening, 'Oliver's trying to start a revolution every five seconds. People are scared, angry and frankly, I'm tired of stalling.' Hayley glanced between all three of us and I held my hands up.

'Don't look at me, honey. You know this wasn't my idea.' I muttered, running my hands through Nik's curls, not missing the soft sight that escaped him as I did.

'It's a day of peace, Hayley.' Klaus murmured, meeting her eye, 'try and enjoy it. I will get the moonlight rings. I will live up to my word. But for now I'm going to finish this bottle,' he grabbed a bottle from a passing group of people, 'and the next in the hopes of drowning the demon that has chosen today to haunt me. Cheers Mikael, impeccable Freudian timing.' He held the bottle up and moved to drink it but I snatched it from his hand before he could and held it out of his reach.

'No. You are not doing this, Mikael is dead, and instead of letting his memory make you think that you're the weak boy he believed you to be, you are going to wake up, remember that you are Klaus Mikaelson. The original hybrid. Mikael isn't here to control you anymore, Nik, and he can't unless you let him so _stop it._ ' By the end of my speech I had crushed the bottle I had been holding away from him as the anger towards Mikael had bubbled up inside of me. I cursed when I realized I had blood trailing down my arm and glass imbedded into my palm. I could feel Hayley and Elijah were impressed with my speech, but Nik's feelings were all that I cared about in that moment.

Nik was staring at me, open-mouthed as if he couldn't believe that I had just said what I had. I could feel how much my words meant to him and how much he had needed to hear them. I felt his resolve as it settled in, and his determination to believe he was strong. He placed a soft kiss to my forehead and started to gently remove the shards of glass from my hand, he had just finished when Elijah spoke.

'Elaborate.' He simply said, continuing when he noticed everyone's confusion, 'have you dreamt of our father?'

'Go ahead. Have a good laugh.' Nik muttered, and I slapped his chest when I felt that Elijah was actually _afraid_ when it was confirmed.

'I assure you there isn't a piece of this, that I find even remotely amusing, Nikalus,' Elijah snapped, his eyes becoming grave, 'especially considering I've been dreaming of him too.'

We were all shocked by this information, I could feel it. I noticed a long tear trailing down Nik's cheek as emotion overcame him and I gently wiped it away with my thumb.

'What?' Nik breathed.

'If you are also seeing him…' he trailed off as someone caught his eye and I glanced over and saw Genevieve just joining the festivities, 'perhaps our elusive unknown enemy is orchestrating a further attack.'

I growled and I was about to go and _nicely_ ask her if he was behind this, but Nik refused to move and seeing as he was essentially blocking me in, I was stuck.

'Easy, love.' Nik murmured, soothingly stroking my arm as his arm wrapped around my shoulders, while he too followed Elijah's gaze, 'what better way to punctuate a day of peace, than by killing someone?' He smirked, waving to the red head with his free hand and placing a kiss to my temple reassuringly when he felt the flare of jealousy that stirred within me.

They went to threaten Genevieve while I remained in the bar with Hayley- I was sure if I followed I would probably end up ripping the bitches head off. Everything that seemed to be going wrong lately, the dreams, me being attacked in the bayou, not to mention the vision I had of her saying she was going to kill our babies… it all went back to her. Pretending we didn't know she was out to get us was the smart thing to do, which was why I was staying behind so I didn't give the game away.

'So how are you holding up?' Hayley asked me, taking a sip of her own iced water.

'Okay I guess.' I stroked my stomach, I habit I had picked up during the pregnancy, 'I talked to the witches, humans and vampires about the introduction of the moonlight rings and people are antsy.' I shrugged, not really surprised.

'They're bound to be; everyone is with something that's new. Remember the initial suspicion with the treaty? When everyone sees that we just want the rings so we don't have to break every bone on a full moon, and so we don't feel like the only species at a disadvantage, it will all blow over.' Hayley assured me, but I could feel she was nervous about this herself.

'You don't think it's a good idea.' I stated, continuing when she looked surprised, 'you're going along with it because Jackson is. Don't get me wrong, just because I'm nervous about the idea, doesn't mean I don't understand why the wolves would want the rings. It offers power, a chance to no longer be the species that is overlooked and tossed aside. If Nik had come to me about the idea instead of going behind my back I would have been behind it, and the only reason it's still going ahead is because I _am_ behind it. Wolves deserve some strength and freedom from the moon. You were right, Hayley it will work out.' I offered her a smile that she returned after squeezing my hands on top of the table.

We talked and laughed for a little before I made my way back to the compound and Hayley went to the Bayou. I was just about to get ready for bed when I heard and felt a familiar but unwelcome presence. Deciding I didn't want to be in the same room as her, I sat on the edge of our bed and listened.

'I asked around. It's not just your father. The purgatory, where supernatural souls are trapped is disintegrating.' Genevieve said.

'What do you mean disintegrating?' Elijah asked, his shoes tapping softly on the floor.

'She's right, more or less. It's actually imploding.' Nik joined in the conversation and my heart skipped a beat; I hadn't seen him since I had gotten back.

'I made a call to a rather reluctant Bennett witch in Mystic Falls, who said the same thing… the dead are being torn away into nothingness. And they're not interested in going quietly.' Nik continued, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he were making elaborate hand gestures as he explained.

'So you're saying that our father, faced with permanent extinction, has decided to spend his remaining time tormenting us.' Elijah paused, mulling over his own words before dryly saying, 'how delightful.'

'Well on the plus side, we'll soon be rid of his abhorrent soul forever. And what a good riddance that will be.' Nik sounded delighted about that, and honestly so was I.

'So am I in the clear, Elijah? Or is there a new conspiracy you two would like to threaten me over?' Genevieve said, rather snarkily for my taste.

'Nothing springs to mind at this precise moment.' Elijah answered, his tone made me outright laugh and when I felt their amusement I knew they had heard me. Due to my laughter, I had never heard her reply but I when I felt Nik join me in the bedroom, I knew she must have left.

'Something funny love?' He asked, amused himself.

'Elijah has a wicked sense of humor.' I told him plainly, stepping to place my hands on his shoulders, closing my eyes in pleasure when his hands started to gently move through my hair. We had his father tormenting us from the other side, witches-both dead and alive- looking to kill our babies and humans blowing up the bayou, but he managed to make me forget all of that with a single touch and I loved him for it.

 _The following day_

'You look…' Elijah started from my left but I cut him off.

'Like death?' I finished with a cough, leaning into Nik's side when he placed a comforting arm around my waist.

'I was going to say lovely,' Elijah retorted with amusement as we walked down the street.

I rolled my eyes at him but offered him a thankful smile as a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me.

'I'm going to talk to Cami.' I murmured, giving Nik a soft kiss before making my way to the front of the line.

'Hey Kim,' Cami greeted me with a sad smile that I returned.

'How are you holding up?' I asked her, squeezing her hand and amplifying the comfort I was sending towards her.

'Not great. With him gone, I don't have anybody, you know?' Cami said, wiping tears from her cheeks.

'You have me. If you ever need anything, just let me know.' I assured her and I meant it.

'Thanks,' she smiled brightly.

'Just be careful- Francesca Correa was behind the bombings at the Bayou so whatever you do don't trust her.' I squeezed her hand, trying to convey how serious I was.

'Thanks for the warning. If I hear she's up to anything I'll let you know.' She smiled.

We shared a hug before I went to make my way back to Nik and Elijah, but I was overcome with a sudden coughing fit and was alarmed when I saw blood on my hand. I felt a huge pain in my abdomen and gripped my stomach, panicked, but I still couldn't stop coughing. I could feel Nik's worry and knew he was making his way over to me before I blacked out.

Klaus' POV

'Kim!' I yelled moving as fast as I could to get to her side as soon as the abdomen pain started. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

When I saw her lying in a heap on the floor, my entire body went ice cold. I scooped her into my arms, ignoring whatever the red head was saying to me. Thankfully, Elijah noticed my impatience and kept the witch away from me as I walked as fast as I could to the compound, without using my supernatural speed; there were too many tourists around. When we reached our home I flashed her over to the table, laying her down gently after Elijah had pushed away the crockery that had been in place.

'What is going on?' I demanded, glaring at the suspicious witch.

'I don't know, but I can help.' She stepped forward and started chanted under her breath, but I growled protectively and flashed my eyes in warning.

'Brother, let her see if he can help.' Elijah murmured, I looked over to him and the concern around his eyes made my temper fizzle out just a little. I nodded over to Genevieve, silently giving her permission to step forward.

The witch had been chanting for a few moments when I had become frustrated with the lack of results and flashed to the other side of my mate, biting into my wrist and tilting her mouth open. It didn't work; the blood just ran down her chin and neck. Nothing was working.

'I can hear the baby's heart beat. But not hers,' Elijah murmured so quietly I almost didn't hear him, and when I focused my own hearing I realized he was right.

'How is this happening?' I demanded, throwing one of the dining room chairs against the wall with enough force to make it shatter, 'I can't lose either of them, Elijah.'

'And you won't.' Elijah assured me, though he didn't exactly sound sure of that himself.

'There's a spell I can do. If it is magic that did this to her it should identify the exact spell so that I can reverse it.' The witch said, her eyes assessing my brother and me.

'Well get on with it!' I yelled, frustrated. Thoughts of losing her, of losing our children were flashing through my mind so fast and unreserved that I was powerless to stop them. If I lost her, it would destroy me, more than anything ever had in my thousand years on this earth. She had to be all right. It was the only option.

Kim's POV

I blinked, trying to remove the blurriness from my vision. It took me a moment to remember what had happened and when I did I shot up from where I was sitting, well I tried to; the colossal bump that was my midsection made it near impossible. The best I managed was moving to my side and swinging my feet to the floor of the compound. 

How had I gotten here? The last thing I remembered was being in the crowded streets of New Orleans, coughing my guts up. There had been a blinding pain in my abdomen; blood on my hand and then everything went black. Nik must have found me and bought me home, but the icy chill travelling down my spine told me that this wasn't home, at least not exactly. There was no sound, none coming from inside the house, none from the usually lively streets that surrounded the compound. There was nothing but the sound of my own breathing and it was making me nervous.

I heard the steps creek and whipped in that direction as fast as I could. When I was met with a man I knew to be dead, I took a step back in worry and dread. Worry because if I knew him to be dead, then did that mean I was too? Dread because I knew what this man was capable of, I knew how much he hated Nik and how much he would hate me by default.

'What the hell am I doing here, Mikael?' I demanded, refusing to be intimidated by him; the fear he inspired in Nik helped me stay strong. I hated this man for what he had done to the man I love.

'It seems the witches here in New Orleans aren't very fond of you, my darling,' he taunted, stepping towards me while I stepped back, 'my darling wife has them after your baby.'

Before I could blink, he was behind me, his arm wrapped around my neck and his free hand pulling at my hair.

'Well it's a shame it won't work out for her isn't it?' I muttered, easily removing his grip from my neck and using it as leverage to spin around and kick him in the abdomen with enough force to send him flying into the wall.

'I'm not as breakable as I was the last time you saw me, asshole.' I sneered, not taking my eyes off him for one second, 'whatever this is, Nik and Elijah will find a way to stop it. Me and the baby will be fine.' I told him, careful not to tell him that I was actually carrying twins, if he didn't know it then I wasn't about to grace him with the information.

Mikael laughed darkly as he flashed over to me, but I had anticipated his move and jumped onto the first floor landing.

'I'm amazed you have so much faith in the bastard, darling. He isn't capable of loving anyone other than himself. And he certainly will not make a good father. Nothing will save that atrocity festering in your womb. Klaus will destroy it one way or another. Better it dies now.' His voice boomed and echoed off the compound walls, but his words didn't make me angry because I knew they weren't true.

'Nik will be an amazing father, you know why?' I punched him in the nose when he tried to sneak up behind me, my hit stunned him giving me the opportunity to escape his clutches before I finished my sentence, 'because he is amazing, kind, gentle and compassionate despite your attempts to snuff those traits out of him for so long. Those are things that will help him be the best father and the abuse he had to endure from you will help him keep from becoming the monster he was "raised" by. Our baby is not dying by your or anyone's hands.' I could help but use air quotes around the word raised, because in my book, emotionally and physically abusing your children didn't count as raising them.

'How dare you stand by him? He is a walking symbol of weakness!' He yelled in outrage.

'How dare you! Nik and the rest of your children are the strongest people I know. They had to become that way to be able to survive running from you for so long. And now they're _free.'_ I snapped his arm in half when he tried to stab me in the stomach with the leg of a nearby chair, when he fell to his knees I whispered into his ear, my voice venomous, 'they are free to live their lives without looking over their shoulder wondering if their devil of a father is going to turn up and ruin everything, all because he blamed the boy of an affair. Personally I would have been more angry at your wife.'

'He was the abomination!' He protested, wincing in pain when I snapped his femur with a vicious kick to his leg.

'He never was, nor will he ever be an abomination. He's different, the first hybrid to ever walk the earth, none of that was his choice, nor is it a bad thing.' I told him, just about to give up talking to him and snap his neck for some bloody peace and quiet when the world was yanked around me and I was jolting awake in the same place, but a different plane.

I gasped for the second time, jolting up and about to get defensive when I sense the people that are actually around me.

'You're alright, love.' Nik murmured in my ear, his warm breath tickling and soothing me all at once.

'I saw him.' I said, the shock from the whole ordeal catching up with me.

'Saw who?' Elijah asked, confused and holding one of my hands. I could tell that what had happened had terrified both brothers and I didn't think twice before sending comforting waves to the both of them.

'Mikael. He was trying to kill the-,' I cut off amended my next word when I noticed a certain red head standing near by, 'baby. What are you doing here?'

'She bought you back.' Elijah told me, squeezing my hand and silently telling me to play nice.

'Thank you.' I muttered, even if it was a little reluctantly.

'You're welcome. I'll leave you all to recuperate.' She forced a smile and I can't say I was sad to see her go.

'You do realize that witches were behind this, right?' I said, shuffling off the dining room table with a hand from each Mikaelson. Once I was on my feet Elijah released me and Klaus gently pulled me to his side, planting a kiss to the top of my head and inhaling my scent.

'I know love. Trust me we will find out who was behind it.' Nik vowed, looking me up and down of any injuries, 'did he do anything to you?'

'No.' I shook my head, sending him a reassuring smile, 'he tried, but I'm not as docile as I was the last time I crossed paths with him.' They didn't miss the meaning behind my words, both of them trying to fight smiles. When Nik's attempts revealed his dimples, I couldn't resist leaning forward and kissing them both.

'I would have loved to have seen it.' Elijah chuckled dryly.

I felt the corners of my eyes tighten in anger when I remembered the words he had said, and smiled innocently when Nik gave me a questioning look.

'What did he say to you?' He gently placed his index finger under my chin to force me to meet his gaze.

'Nothing true,' I assured him with a soft smile, bringing my hand to the side of his face and rubbing my thumb back and forth gently.

'You can tell me anything, you know.' He threw my own words back at me with a small smirk and I huffed a little but smiled regardless.

'That man's already hurt you enough; I'm not subjecting you to the bullshit he's just been spouting. You've heard enough to last you a life time.' I ran my hands gently through his curls.

'You know he will just keep asking until you tell him.' Elijah said, his tone amused but happy as he watched us both interact. I was surprised to feel Elijah's intrigue over what had happened as well.

'You both want to know?' I asked, looking in between the both of them. When they nodded, I sighed in defeat and sank down in the middle of the three-seater sofa, patting the cushions either side of me. When I nodded my assent they both placed a hand on either side of my face, and I relaxed into my seat, allowing them to enter my mind.

I couldn't quite describe how it felt letting someone into your mind, the place that was your own personal solitude, and feel them taking control of what happened. I could feel them sifting through my memories, not pausing too long on any that weren't what they were looking for, as they searched for the correct one. It was like reliving it again, but I could sense Klaus and Elijah watching over me as it happened. I felt the confusion, anger, worry and frustration all over again. As well as that, I could also sense exactly how Nik and Elijah were feeling as they watched the whole scene. Their joined fury over his words, their panic when he tried to attack me, their pride when I gained the upper hand and their absolute adoration as I stood up for our family. They both came out of my mind together, and I had to force myself to open my eyes; the day's events were starting to catch up with me really fast. I was exhausted.

'You stood up to him.' Nik murmured so quietly that I wasn't sure I heard him correctly.

'Rather gallantly I might add.' Elijah sent me a proud smile.

'I will always stand up for you,' I squeezed Nik's hand before I continued, 'and this family. Always and forever.'

'Let's get you to bed love.' Nik stood from the sofa and offered me his hand, gently pulling me to my feet. I sent him an appreciative smile; I was close to being dead on my feet.

'Night, Lijah',' I murmured as I passed him, ruffling his hair and laughing when he shot me an unimpressed look.

We made our way up to the third floor slowly and quietly. I could feel that Nik had gone emotionally numb, and with everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours, I couldn't say I blamed him. When we reached our room, I gently tugged him over the threshold and locked the door behind us. I was silent while I carefully changed into my pajamas- Bekah had been nice enough to ship me some maternity clothes after saying that her "brothers may be excellent protectors, but they won't even think about a pregnant woman needing a wardrobe that accustomed to her growing frame". The nightgown I was currently wearing was a soft grey and made of silk. Nik had told me I looked like a waterfall when I had first worn it, and I had woken up to him painting me the next day, I was a late riser so when I had realized what he had been doing he had already been putting the finishing touches on it.

'Nik?' My voice was quiet as I bought my hand to the side of his face and gently forced those stormy blue eyes to meet my gaze once we had gotten comfortable in bed, 'talk to me.'

He stared at me for a long time, and I was starting to wonder if he was having another episode similar to when I told him I was having twins. Just as I was about to yell for Elijah, his hand covered mine where it rested on the side of his face and he let out a sigh that caused his shoulders to buckle in defeat.

'I thought Mikael was gone forever and now-,' He stopped with a stuttered breath, I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to his lips, amplifying the comfort and reassurance I was sending towards him. When he relaxed, his muscles fell into the mattress as he became calm rather than anxious and I felt relieved.

'He will be. The other side is falling apart and it won't be long before we never have to worry about seeing his sorry ass ever again.' My hand tangled into his hair, and tugged gently as a devilish grin formed on my face, 'you're a big bad original hybrid remember? Nothing can come up against you and win, Nik. You should know that by now.'

His ocean blue eyes regarded me for a moment as he considered my words. I knew he was paying attention to my feelings as well, to see if I had meant my words behind my teasing tone, and I had. He was strong, powerful and basically invincible. Mikael's emotional abuse made him forget that, but I had no problem reminding him. When he still didn't seem sure, I placed a kiss to his cheek, lingering for a moment as I whispered against his skin.

'You're the strongest person I know, Nik. You make me strong. Without you I wouldn't be able to face most of the problems we've had since we came to New Orleans. You keep me grounded and you make me strong enough to fight.' I told him, meaning every word. I could tell that he needed to hear that, he needed to know that he was strong enough for me to draw my strength from him, because in the next moment, he captured my lips in a passionate, thankful and startling kiss.

'You are _everything_ to me, Kimberly.' He whispered against my mouth, his eyes staring into mine.

'And you're everything to me.' I assured him.


	42. Our Family Is Whole

Chapter Forty-Two

'Surely you can see this from our point of view, bestie!' I complained, staring at his face on the laptop screen.

We were currently in a group Skype chat—Elijah was talking to Genevieve about the moonlight rings and Klaus was in the shower. It was still pretty early in the morning—the sun hadn't even risen yet, but with everyone being in different time zones we needed to be awake. Bekah, Elena and Kol were in the chat, but Finn was nowhere to be found, which was concerning in itself and I made a mental note to check up on him later.

'Of course we can,' Elena said, her voice understanding.

'Bestie-,' Kol paused, but I was glad he was calling me that, 'I _do_ understand where you're coming from and honestly I'm glad that we weren't daggered to be protected, which I'm sure we would have been if it was left to Nik.'

'That's not true, Kol,' Nik disagreed as he entered the room, a white towel wrapped around his waist, while his chest still glistened with moisture.

'I'll take it from the look on Kimmie's face you're either naked or close to it.' Bekah commented.

I was sat on the bed, my back against the headboard, so when Nik walked in, I had a clear view of his sculpted body while those on the chat could just see my face. I hadn't realised I had been following the progression of the water droplets flowing steadily down his chest until Bekah commented on it. My gaze snapped back to the laptop, my cheeks flushing as everyone laughed. I rolled my eyes at Nik's devilish smirk as he dried off and dressed in a flash. In the next moment he was sitting beside me on the bed and I adjusted the laptop so everyone could see us both.

'Anyway…' I muttered, my head leaning on Nik's shoulder, 'what were we talking about?'

'It's nice to see that you two are still massively infatuated with each other,' Elena teased, but I could tell she was genuinely pleased.

'Of course they are,' Bekah rolled her eyes with a smile.

'Anyway,' Kol said, rolling his eyes, 'so my Bestie is about to pop and I'm only just _now_ finding out about it?'

'Well… yes.' I avoided Elena and Kol's eyes, feeling a little guilty. Nik took my hand in his, entwining our fingers and offering a little squeeze for support.

'The night Genevieve captured us, after Bekah and I sorted out the whole Marcel business—,' Nik started to explain, but was interrupted.

'Wait, you sorted it out? Then what was the banishing about?' Kol asked.

'If you'd resist interrupting me for a moment, brother I could tell you,' Nik rolled his eyes and I smirked—I'd missed seeing them interact.

'As I was saying, we sorted it out, but knew we'd be stuck in there until morning thanks to the boundary spell Celeste had gifted us with. So we were just getting comfy and waiting for the supplies that Hayley was bringing when Kim had a vision.' Nik looked over to me, silently asking me if I wanted to continue, I squeezed his hand and took over.

'I saw Genevieve. She cast a spell to search for pregnancy, but altered it so that if there was any magic protecting it then it would be rendered void.' I said, my gaze becoming unfocused as I remembered, 'after that she spoke to the ancestors. She said she didn't want to do it, but after they threatened her she said she would kill our baby.'

'Bitch,' Kol and Elena said at the same time, startling a laugh out of Bekah and I.

'Indeed,' Nik agreed, bringing his arm to rest around my waist and allowing me to lean against him more heavily.

'When I came out of the vision, we could hear the babies heart beat, and assumed she had cast the spell in the present.' I explained.

'And seeing as the ancestors had demanded it, we knew that our mother was the one who was behind the request.' Nik carried on, picking up where I left off as his hand moved to rub my lower back, 'and naturally, we assumed that it wasn't just the baby that was in danger, seeing as every time she pops up, she wants us all dead.'

'Mother of the year award right there,' Bekah commented with a roll of her eyes, but I could tell that the fact her mother wanted her dead hurt her more than she let on.

'Seeing as Genevieve expected Nik to be pissed off with Bekah, we used it to our advantage and convinced you guys that was the case too.' I said quietly, knowing they weren't going to like that we had manipulated them.

'You knew that if we thought you were banishing her we would leave too,' Kol realised, looking a mixture of hurt and impressed.

'We just wanted to protect you, and we knew it would be harder for her to hurt you all if you were spread out over the world and protected with magic,' I said, hoping that they would understand.

'I don't like it,' Kol said, his declaration was followed by a grunt of pain and I assumed that Elena had just elbowed him in the ribs, 'but I understand and I appreciate you wanting to protect us, but it should have been our decision to make, Bestie.'

'I know,' my eyes fell to my lap guiltily, 'I'm sorry.'

'We know.' Elena smiled kindly, 'and I forgive you.'

'Me too,' Kol smiled when he noticed the surprise on my face, 'you see, Nik this is what happens when you keep us in the loop and don't dagger us for protection.'

Nik rolled his eyes, recognising the teasing in Kol's voice.

'Yes, well I'm glad we've reached this point, brother.' Nik said, his voice sincere.

Kol's eye brows shot up in surprise before he smiled, 'me too, Nik.'

'So can we come back now, or what?' Bekah asked impatiently.

I shared a look with Nik, and saw that neither of us knew what would be best. Ester was still a threat, but the babies were due any day now and they would need to be protected; I just _knew_ they would.

'Ugh, I have not missed their freaky silent conversations,' Bekah mock shuddered, drawing our attention back to them.

'Me neither,' Elena agreed.

'Oh, shush,' I rolled my eyes with a smile, 'Ester is still a threat. As long as she's with the ancestors, witches are going to keep coming after the babies and if Ester's track record is anything to go by, she'll be coming for you guys as well.'

'I don't care. I'm not going to run and hide while some old coots threaten our family, I'll be in New Orleans later tonight.' Bekah promised, and I knew that nothing would change her mind, but she signed off before we could try.

'We'll be there too,' Elena said after sharing a look with Kol, 'we'll be there by tonight or early tomorrow morning.'

'Okay,' I bit my lip with worry before I asked, 'have you heard from Finn?'

'Not since we parted ways in New Orleans.' Kol said after thinking for a moment, 'why? Do you think something happened to him?'

'I have a bad feeling, which is never good.' I shook my head.

'We'll look for Finn after we've dealt with everything, love. If his reputation is anything to go by, he probably doesn't want to be found.' Nik murmured, placing a kiss to my temple.

'You're probably right,' I admitted, knowing we hadn't left things in the best place.

'Right we're going to go, we need to back and get tickets…' Elena trailed off; I could practically see the wheels turning in her head already.

'I'll see you both soon, love you,' I said before closing the laptop and inevitably ending the chat.

'Well that just happened.' I mumbled, the bad feeling in my gut growing a little more, but I knew it wasn't to do with our family coming back to town; something bad was going to happen today and it was to do with the babies.

'What's wrong, love?' He could probably feel my dread.

'Something terrible is going to happen today and it's to do with the babies. I think they're going to be born and the witches are going to try and kill them.' I murmured, my hand rubbing my belly.

'I will do everything I can to protect you and our children.' Nik promised me and I believed him.

'I know you will,' I bought my free hand to caress the side of his face, when he leaned into my touch I smiled softly, 'I need you to trust me, Nik.'

'I trust you more than anyone,' he said without hesitation.

'Genevieve is going to do something to mess with the moonlight rings and it's to do with me. I think she's made a deal with some wolves, but I have no idea who because Hayley and Jackson wouldn't do that,' I frowned as I thought.

'Actually Elijah texted me about an issue while I was in the shower.' Nik said, pulling out his phone and handing it to me.

 _It appears Marcellus got wind of our plan with the moonlight rings. He interrupted Jackson and Oliver, took the rings and set them up in a warehouse rigged to explode. I got them both out alive, but the stones are gone._

I rolled my eyes after reading the message and handed the phone back to Nik.

'Marcel keeps sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.' I sighed in frustration.

'I was planning on asking Francesca for help securing more kyanite stones,' his tone was casual, but I could tell he was concerned about my reaction.

'I don't trust her as far as I could throw her. I actually have an idea. I told Davina about the rings and she has heard of the stone before. I think she might know where we could get some.' I looked up to Nik, reading his expression and focusing on his emotions.

'That's a better idea. Davina is far less likely to screw us over with her fondness for you.' Nik agreed and I could feel he was actually a little relived by my suggestion.

'Great. I'll go and see her. Could you go and let Hayley and Jackson know what's going on?' I asked him, placing a kiss to his cheek in thanks after he helped me up off the bed.

'Actually I'd prefer to go with you,' he admitted, I could tell he was determined, 'if the babies are going to be born today, I'm not leaving your side.'

'Okay,' I smiled, knowing how worried he was over the witches.

I texted Davina and asked her if we could meet at her apartment. She agreed and told us she'd be there in an hour, which was fine with me because it gave me chance to get dressed; during the chat I had been in my pyjamas. How Nik had had the energy to get out of bed straight away to shower I would never know. Once I left the bathroom, I felt a little more relaxed thanks to the shower and in a flash I was dressed in a blue body con dress and black flats. I hadn't had to wash my hair so I just pulled it from the bun it had been in for the shower, and let it hang loosely down my back. I grabbed Nik's dark brown leather jacket from the closet and left to find where he had wandered off too.

I was about to call out for him when I remembered I could literally sense where he was. I frowned in confusion when I sensed that he was in the room attached to our bedroom; I had no idea what he could have been doing in there. I opened the door and found him standing in the centre of the room, staring at one of the cribs that were in there. I gasped when I got a proper look at the room; I had known Nik and I were planning to turn it into a nursery for the babies but with everything going on we hadn't had the chance to decorate it. Or so I thought. The room had a fluffy cream carpet that definitely hadn't been there a few weeks ago as well as two dark wooded cribs that sat next to each other with a small bookcase separating them. There was a rocking chair opposite the cribs and there were shelves that sat around the room that either had stuffed animals or books resting on them. There was a chest of draws that had a changing area on top, when I opened the draws it revealed differently coloured clothes for both babies, as well as diapers and creams.

'What do you think?' Nik murmured so quietly that I had to strain to hear him.

He reached up and wiped tears from my cheeks; I hadn't even realised I had been crying.

'Nik… it's wonderful,' I told him honestly, resting my hands on top of his shoulders, 'when did you do this?'

'I've been adding to it ever since we found out. I was going to show it to you when it was finished, but there are a few pieces of artwork I wanted to add first,' he moved out of my hold and held up two of the three paintings he had resting against one of the cribs.

One was a picture of New Orleans. One side was shrouded in blue, the other in red with the moon separating them. The other was a painting of us; he had painted us dancing together at the ball his mother had thrown back in Mystic Falls. It seemed so long ago, and the love and affection that was clearly between us in the painting made me smile.

'They're beautiful. Your eye for detail never fails to amaze me,' I told him, my finger gently traced the strokes of the first painting.

Nik didn't respond, but the bashful smile on his face made me lean forward and place a gentle kiss onto his lips. He hung the first painting in between the cribs and the second over the chest of drawers.

'What about that one?' I asked, gesturing to the third painting that was facing away from me.

'That one isn't finished.' He told me, but he reached down to pick it up anyway, 'it's going to be a family portrait, I just need to wait to add the babies.'

He turned the painting around to show me, and I felt my eyes well up. Nik and I were in the centre of the picture, each of us staring adorably at the floor, which is where I was assuming the babies were going to be. Kol, Elena, Bekah and Finn were stood on either side of us, all smiling and watching the same spot with smiles of wonderment.

'It's perfect.' I whispered.

'It will be when our children are in it.' He agreed, placing the painting back where it was.

I made my way over to the rocking chair and sat down in it, testing the structure. It moved me back and forth gently and the babies must have liked it because they started kicking.

'Are you alright, love?' Nik asked when he noticed me wince from a particularly harsh kick.

'Yes, come here,' I smiled, grabbing his hand and bringing him forward with enough force that he fell to his knees in front of me. He looked confused until I placed his hands over my stomach.

I saw the exact moment that he felt it, because his eyes filled with tears, and his face lit up with a smile reflecting his true happiness. We shared an affectionate smile and seeing as we still had time before we had to meet Davina, we stayed there until we had to leave, savouring the moment.

 _At Davina's Apartment_

'When you mentioned it to me I started looking into it. I knew Marcel wasn't going to be happy when he got word of it and I had a feeling you might need some spare.' Davina smiled, disappearing into her room for a moment and returning with a shoebox containing enough stones to accommodate the entire Crescent moon pack.

'Wow. Where did you get all of these?' I asked, amazed.

'It took some doing but I managed to track them down in Pennsylvania; there is a small coven there that had them stocked. They sent them over without asking any questions.' Davina shrugged, seeming confused about that herself.

'You are amazing.' I told her, meaning every word.

'It is impressive,' Nik agreed, accepting the box from me so I could give Davina a hug.

'It's the least I could do, unlike Marcel I understand why you're doing this and I believe that nothing will change,' she shrugged.

'Have you told anyone?' I asked, knowing the answer as soon as I asked the question.

'No, I don't need to. I've figured out how to tap into my magic, so I don't need the coven anymore. I've left.' She grinned excitedly.

'I'm happy for you honey,' I smiled, her happiness contagious.

'We need to be going, love.' Nik reminded me, his hand rubbing my lower back.

'I know,' I sighed giving Davina an apologetic look, 'sorry, D, but we need to go out to the bayou and then talk to Genevieve about this spell.'

'Sure. I'm sorry I can't help with that. You'll need power and she has access to the ancestors while I don't.' She looked guilty.

'Don't apologise. You've done more than enough.' I assured her.

With a parting hug we were on our way to the Bayou in the Range Rover. I had the stones on my lap, with my left hand entwined with Nik's as he drove.

I couldn't help but think about what the day was going to bring. I wish I knew more; all I knew was that something bad was going to happen that involved the babies. We didn't trust Genevieve, which was justified, but there was more to it. There had to be. I sighed, opening the box with my free hand and picking up one of the stones. Whatever was going to happen was because of this spell, maybe she was going to use the spell as a distraction, maybe she wasn't going to do the spell at all—

My thoughts cut off as my vision disappeared and I felt the beginning of a vision. I took the hand that was entwined with Nik's and lifted it to my face.

' _I need the blood of someone who doesn't have to change with the full moon.' Genevieve said, looking over to Nik expectantly, 'I could ask Kimberly.'_

' _No, you can use mine,' Nik said, biting into his wrist and allowing his blood to drip into the stone bowl in front of the red head._

' _Very well,' she said, and I could swear she was smirking a little._

 _I looked over to see myself enter the room with Hayley and Elijah, when Francesca Correa entered with us I frowned in confusion._

' _Who invited her?' Future me asked, gesturing to the black haired woman._

' _I heard you needed more stones.' She explained, 'I simply came to offer my assistance.'_

' _Well you heard wrong,' Hayley snapped, apparently not trusting her either._

' _You can leave now.' I smiled sweetly, holding the door open._

 _She left with a glare over to Nik who was chuckling in amusement. I was happy to see her go. Everyone turned to watch Genevieve as she progressed with the spell, when she was finished; there was an eerie silence._

' _Is it finished?' Elijah asked._

' _Yes.' The witch answered reluctantly._

 _It was almost as if she was expecting something. Eventually, she just handed the rings over to Hayley but she didn't turn to leave. Hayley breezed from the room, probably eager to get the rings to the Bayou._

' _You should go with her, Elijah.' I said, referring to Hayley, 'make sure she doesn't run into any Marcel shaped issues.'_

' _Very well,' the elder Mikaelson left the room, leaving us alone with the witch._

' _I'm sorry,' Genevieve whispered._

' _What for?' Nik asked, discretely moving me to stand behind him._

' _This,' she lifted her hand up forming a fist and twisting it. In the next moment, Nik fell to the floor, temporarily dead._

' _I'm warning you, if you take another step or make another movement you will regret it.' I growled, my eyes flashing amber, the wolf in me coming flaring up protectively._

I gasped as my vision returned me to the present. I looked over to Nik who seemed to be considerably paler than he had been before.

'What are we going to do?' I whispered, concerned.

'Did it feel absolute?' Nik asked, elaborating when he noticed my confused frown, 'you're part prophet, but remember that the empathetic side of you triggers visions too. Did it feel like a prophet vision or empathetic?'

I looked down to the stones, remembering how the vision had come when I had touched them. It hadn't been out of the blue, it had been like the cave, but this time I saw the future and not the past.

'Empathetic.' I said, my voice sure.

'Good.' Nik smirked devilishly and proceeded to tell me his plan.

 _Later that night._

I was in the corridor with Hayley, Jackson and Elijah waiting for our cue. There were a few things that were going to be considerably different from my vision that I had earlier. We had looked into every detail the vision provided. We looked into the spell, more specifically, what would be needed in order to cast it. Nowhere did it mention the blood of a wolf that doesn't have to change during the full moon. Elijah suggested she planned to link the wolves that would end up wearing the rings to Nik, draining him of power. We also didn't understand why Francesca had been there and I had called around asking if anyone knew anything about the human. Cami had looked into the files her uncle had left her and found out that she was descended from a line of werewolves. We deduced that Genevieve was going to make a deal with her—the moonlight rings for me. Nik had made a call to Marcel and asked him to distract the Correa family; surprisingly he had been on board once we told him what they were planning. If everything went to plan, if Genevieve managed to take me anywhere it wouldn't be for long.

'I need the blood of a wolf who doesn't have to transform during a full moon.' The witch said.

'You shouldn't. I've looked into this spell meticulously and nowhere does it state that you need blood. Unless of course you were planning to have the wolves draw from me every full moon to make me weak.' Nik said, his voice was casual but the underlying threat couldn't be mistaken.

'Of course not—I—I'll just get on with the spell.' The witch ensured him, chanting before Nik could respond. I didn't need to be an empath

I was relieved to feel that she wasn't lying and she was in fact going forward with the spell.

'Francesca should be here soon, if she's managed to get away from Marcel.' I murmured and Elijah took that as his cue to intercept her at the door.

'Do you think this is going to work?' Hayley asked, worried.

I sent a wave of comfort to her before responding, 'as long as everything goes according to plan, this should work.'

'Well then, we better make sure it all goes off without a hitch, huh?' the wolf said, forcing her voice to sound cheery but I could sense how concerned she was.

I took her worry and replaced it with calm before talking her hand—it was time for us to walk in. It was timed perfectly; as we entered, she was finished with the spell. Nik looked over to us and smirked, pleased with how things were going so far. I returned his smile, but I would feel better when Hayley and those rings were safely in the Bayou.

'Finished?' Hayley asked.

'Yes,' the witch replied, rather snidely.

'Get them out to the Bayou.' I told her with a smile. I sent one final wave of comfort towards her before she walked out of the door.

'Shouldn't someone go with her?' Genevieve asked as Elijah joined us in the room.

'I am assured that Hayley can handle herself.' Elijah said, his tone indicating there was no room for argument.

'You should get going. I'm sure the girls are wondering where you've gotten to.' Nik said, coming to stand to my right while Elijah stood to my left.

'Yes you're right.' Genevieve said and made her way to the door with a smile, but it was clearly forced.

I knew she wasn't going to leave without a fight though and when she turned around abruptly I wasn't surprised. I was surprised when Monique and the other harvest girl stormed into the room, each of them snapping a Mikaelson's neck. Genevieve grinned evilly at me and stepped forward, I heard her chanting, but the world was becoming unfocused and the last thing I registered before I blacked out was a pain in my abdomen, the same pain that I felt when I was attacked in the Bayou.

Klaus' P.O.V.

I groaned at the pain in the base of my skull as I regained consciousness. I bought my hand to the back of my neck, trying to ease the pain that was there as my body healed. My eyes snapped open as everything came rushing back to the surface. I looked over to my left to see Elijah still unconscious. Kimberly was nowhere to be seen, but I could feel her pain and her fear. I was by my brother's side in a flash, shaking his shoulder until he woke up.

'Get up, brother. We need to move.' I winced as a large wave of pain washed over me.

'Where is she?' Elijah demanded as soon as he opened his eyes.

'They took her.' I ground out, my hand holding my stomach.

'What is it?' The elder Mikaelson asked.

'She's in pain. I think the babies are coming. And she's afraid.' Elijah gripped my forearm to help me stay standing.

'We need to find her. I know you're feeling her pain right now, which is concerning on it's own, but you need to focus. You share a connection with her, one that means you can sense her, and you can seek her out. She's done it with you before, Niklaus.' Elijah spoke calmly, allowing me to concentrate.

I groaned through the pain but closed my eyes, concentrating on her. Reaching out to the link we shared was… odd. I could literally feel _her_ not just her pain or her fear but her presence. My eyes snapped open, I could feel that they had turned to amber but I didn't care.

'We need to go.' I said, my voice sure.

I flashed from the room straight away, following the connection and my gut. I knew my brother would follow me so when I reached the church I entered immediately. What I saw made me more furious than I could ever remember being. Kimberly was at the front, lying on a mattress. The three witches with her were dressed in white, all standing around her while she screamed in agony. She was in labour-that much was clear and the witches were standing around like sharks looking for their next prey. I growled, my eyes turning amber and Kimberly met my gaze, her own eyes responding in kind. I stepped forward, ripping apart the man who tried to get in my way; his limbs hit the floor with a thud. I reached down and snapped off a shard of wood and threw it at the blonde witch with enough force that it sliced through her abdomen and pinned her to the wall. I roared in outrage and fell to my knees when Genevieve and Monique joined together to make my head explode with magic. My anger grew even more when I saw that Kimberly was also feeling my pain on top of her own. I reached out to the legs of the man I had attacked before and pulled out a knife from his pocket. I pulled myself up off the floor with a scream of agony and threw the knife, hoping the blade mage contact with one of the real versions of the four women I was seeing. I heard someone scream and then the pain from my head was gone. I got to my feet immediately and looked to my right when I felt a rush of air. Elijah had arrived.

We shared a look and he gave an undetectable nod of understanding. I flashed over to Kimberly; he went for Genevieve and snapped her neck.

'Love? Do we have time to move you?' I asked her, gently brushing her hair away from her face and taking her hand in mine.

'No. They're coming, Nik,' she gasped out, sweat glistening on her forehead.

'Elijah what are we going to do? We don't have anyone to deliver the baby!' I rushed out, looking over to my brother who was standing the other side of my mate.

'Brother-,' Elijah tried to calm me, but we were interrupted by a voice that surprised us both.

'Looks like I'm just in time,' a female voice called out.

My head snapped over to the front of the church, and once the surprise had passed a genuine smile formed on my face.

'Hello sister,' I smirked.

'Thank god,' Kimberly sighed, sitting up to meet the blonde's gaze, 'you were a nurse right? Because I kind of need one.'

'I got you covered love,' she grinned, flashing over to us and standing in between Kimberly's legs, 'let's bring my niece and nephew into the world shall we?'

Kimberly's hand tightened in mine and I looked down to her, brushing her hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead.

'You can do this, love.' I whispered.

I saw her fear transform into determination. We had this.

Kimberly's P.O.V.

I screamed, pushing one final time. I was exhausted. I'd been pushing for what felt like forever and the first baby wasn't even out yet.

'I can't do this.' I whispered, leaning back on the mattress.

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of crying filled the room. I sat up with the help of Nik and Elijah and I felt my eyes water when they landed on the small baby in Bekah's arms.

'Congratulations. You have a baby girl,' Bekah sounded emotional herself as she carefully placed the baby on my chest, 'you have a few minutes before the next one comes.'

'She's perfect,' I said, bringing my index finger to gently stroke her cheek.

Nik's eyes were filled with tears as he looked down to our little girl. I squeezed his hand, inevitably snapping him out of his daze. We shared a look of amazement before I handed the baby to him; I felt the tears in my eyes spill over as I watched him hold her. She looked so small encased in his strong arms and so delicate because he was holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

'She's beautiful, Nik,' Bekah said softly, coming to stand next to him and bringing her finger to Hope's hand, making a noise of delight when she held on.

I didn't want to ruin the moment, but I could feel the contractions building again and I squeezed Elijah's hand as the pain grew.

'I believe the next baby is coming.' Elijah announced calmly, squeezing my hand in comfort.

'Brother, can you hold her?' Nik asked, looking from the bundle in his arms to Elijah.

'Of course.' Elijah managed to pull my hand out of his with great difficulty. Once he was free, Nik carefully placed Hope into his arms and came to stand behind me. I rested my head against his chest and squeezed both of his hands when he entwined our fingers.

'You know this your fault.' I groaned at the tightening feeling in my abdomen.

'Yes it is, he impregnated you, and it's all his fault darling.' My gaze snapped over to the new voice and I smiled when I saw who was coming into the room.

'It's about bloody time you two got here.' Bekah muttered.

In a flash Elena was standing to my right with Kol coming to my left.

'It's so good to see you,' I murmured, resting my head on Nik's chest behind me. My eyes fluttered closed when Nik kissed my hair and whispered comforting words to me.

'Just one more push Kimmie and your son will be here.' Bekah encouraged.

'It's a boy? Why didn't you say anything?' Elena asked, wiping the sweat from my brow with a piece of cloth.

'Not just a boy,' I muttered, looking over to Elijah who was staring at Hope with a look of utter adoration on his face.

'Twins?' Elena and Kol said at the same time.

Before I could say anything they went over to meet her. Hope hadn't been born for ten minutes and she already had everyone wrapped around her finger. Nik and I shared a small smile, before my expression turned into a grimace as the final contraction started.

'Just one more push Kimmie,' Bekah reminded me, her brow furrowed in sympathy.

I didn't even want to think about how much of a mess I must have looked right there and then. I took a deep breath, summoning all of my strength and putting it towards bringing my son into the world. When the sound of crying filled the air, my breath caught. They were both here. I was a mother. Nik and I were parents. Bekah passed Henrik over with a watery smile and I felt my own tears fall down my cheeks as I looked down on my son. Just like his sister, he was perfect. I felt the absence of Nik's presence from behind me, but I needn't have worried because a second later, he was stood next to me with our daughter in his arms.

'I can't believe it.' I whispered, looking at both of my children in complete adoration.

'Me neither.' Nik murmured back, his voice thick with emotion.

I heard the click of a camera and looked over to see Bekah holding up her phone with a smile on her face.

'You'll love it. Trust me.' Bekah promised when she noticed my expression.

'They're perfect.' Elena said softly.

I grinned in agreement sharing a look with Nik and I didn't need our connection to know that he was thinking the same thing. As I looked around me, surrounded by those I cared about the most in the world, I was grateful to have them all there. Despite the bodies of the witches Nik and Elijah had massacred, the room was full of love and adoration. We were a family and we would be always and forever.

A little while later, when I felt that I had completely healed and some of my strength had returned, we made our way back to the compound. I was thankful that the streets were relatively deserted because most of us were covered in blood. But I didn't care. We were all together—sans Finn—and I would be damned if we would ever be separated again.

When we got back to the compound, Nik and I immediately went to take care of the twins, waving off everyone's offers of help. Once they were bathed, dressed, fed and both placed in diapers, we placed them in one of the cots side by side. We had both heard that it was better for twins to remain together as long as possible after birth. It helped them gain a bond and in some cases helped them sleep better.

'I can't believe they're actually here.' I whispered, my head leaning back on Nik's shoulder. We were standing in the doorway to the nursery, just watching them sleep. Nik was standing behind me, his head on my shoulder and his hands resting on my hips.

'Neither can I,' Nik responded, sounding just as amazed as me.

'They're not going to disappear. Now that they're down you have a few hours to shower and change before they wake up for another feed.' Bekah's voice came from behind us, startling us both.

I was reluctant to leave them, and I could feel that Nik was too. The blonde haired vampire sensed it and basically dragged us out of the room and ushered us towards the shower.

'These babies are underneath a roof with five originals and a vampire. I can guarantee that nothing is going to get through us. They are already the most protected babies on earth,' Bekah promised us, blocking the doorway to the nursery and giving us a stern look, 'now go and shower. You're both covered in blood and you're starting to smell.'

With a sigh, we both went to the bathroom, deciding to shower together to save time. Even though I didn't want to leave the babies, I had to admit it was nice to spend some relaxed quality time with Nik. He washed my hair with both shampoo and conditioner and I returned the favour for him. Afterwards we washed each other's bodies, more than a little amazed that my stomach had become just as flat as it had been before I had given birth—a benefit of supernatural healing, I supposed. We took our time underneath the hot spray and when we finally left the bathroom, the hot water had turned cold. I was wrapped in a big fluffy white towel, my wet hair hanging down my back, while Nik had a towel wrapped around his waist.

Nik had an arm wrapped around my waist, providing me with the warmth that exuded from him, which I accepted gratefully by leaning into his side. We both got changed, handing each other clothes without needing to ask what was wanted. In the end I was dressed in black high waisted skinny jeans for what felt the first time in forever, a pink lacy crop top with my damp hair hanging down my back to air dry. I didn't bother with shoes seeing as I wasn't expecting to go anywhere outside the compound. Just as Nik was pulling on his dark blue jeans—they were my favourite on him—we heard one of the twins crying. Without even thinking I flashed to the nursery to see Bekah lifting Hope into her arms. Of course her crying had woken up Henrik and I walked over to his crib immediately and cradled him against my chest.

It hadn't been an hour since their last feed yet so I knew they weren't hungry; Henrik was probably just tired and unhappy about being woken up by his sister. Sure enough, after a few minutes of rocking and gentle murmurs he fell back asleep. Hope followed suit after she had her diaper changed by Bekah and they were both soon back in their crib.

'You're good with them.' Nik said from where he was leaning against the doorway, observing the scene with a soft look on his face.

'I'm going to get you both some blood seeing as it's pretty clear neither of you are letting them out of your sight anytime soon.' Bekah announced before breezing past her older brother.

'I was thinking…' I trailed off before I sat in the rocking chair, gently rocking back and forth, 'about middle names. We never decided on those.'

'No we didn't,' Nik smiled, his eyes flickering over the twins before looking over to me.

 _What do you think of Hope's middle name being Rebekah?_ I asked him through the mind-link—I didn't want us to be overheard.

 _I think that would make a certain someone very happy._ Nik smirked, but his eyes were soft.

 _I do too. She's always wanted children; I think it would be a nice gesture._ I smiled.

 _And Henrik?_

 _Do you have any ideas?_ I asked.

Nik was quiet for a moment as he thought, and honestly I had no idea what he was thinking or what he was going to decide on. But I knew whatever he chose he would have a reason.

 _What about Elijah? He's my brother and like my sister he has always been there for me despite all of the reasons I have given him to abandon me._

I stood from the chair and wrapped my arms around his waist; my body flush against his as I rested my chin on his chest to look him in the eye.

'I think it's perfect.' I said honestly, because it was, 'we should tell them alone before we announce it to the other residents of the quarter.'

'We will,' Nik said, his hands rubbing my upper arms comfortingly.

We had bought our babies into the world—the witch problem hadn't been completely sorted out as Ester was still on the other side, but we had werewolves and vampires to protect our babies. And protect them we would.

 _Witches Sacred Ground, Third Person POV_

Cassie walked through the graveyard, seeming lost until she came across a particular gravestone. With a small smile, she stole a single rose from another grave and placed it on top.

Another man joined her, and he too looked down to the gravestone.

'May you rest in peace.' He said, glancing over to the younger girl.

'Where's the fun in that?' She said, meeting his eye for the first time, 'come along. We have much to do.'

'Yes mother.' The African-American man replied, giving the gravestone one final glance before he followed after her.

 _ESTER_

 _OUR BELOVED MOTHER._

 **Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been sooooo long since I updated this story, but this year at university has been so much more stressful than last year. I'm done now until September, so expect more frequent updates! For now, Hope and Henrik are to remain in New Orleans, but that may change with Finn and Ester returning to destroy them. As of now, Ester thinks that the Mikaelson baby is dead—she doesn't know it was twins—but it may be hard to hide that now she has a physical form. I'm hoping to avoid sending them away, but if it needs to happen it shall. I hope you liked this chapter, I hope it wasn't too much all at once. I really wanted the rest of the family to be there for the birth, though Finn wouldn't be. I have plans for him that will be revealed in the coming chapters. See you next time! And please review to let me know what you think!**


	43. The Arrival of the Starlings

Chapter Forty-Three

 _Three months later_

'Kol! What are you doing with my phone?' Bekah's voice cut through the quietness that had been encasing the compound.

I was reading in the library, and I couldn't tamper my curiosity when I felt Kol's mischief. I was in the living room in an instant, leaning against the concrete wall with a smirk on my face.

'Aww little Bekah has a little text from Marcel.' Kol grinned, flashing out of reach when the blonde lunged for the phone.

'Kol!' She warned, practically growling from annoyance and embarrassment.

Seeing as neither had noticed me yet I decided to help, and in a flash the phone was in my hand, leaving a startled Kol staring between his hand and me in bewilderment.

'Bestie!' He scolded, but his surprise tampered the sting.

'I think Bekah's dealt with more than enough embarrassment from her brothers.' I cocked my brow in amusement and disapproval as I handed Bekah back her phone.

'Have I told you I love you lately?' Bekah asked, clearly grateful.

'Nope, but I already know.' I winked, dramatically lifting my hand to my forehead, 'I am after all _impossible_ not to love.'

'I can vouch for that,' said the only voice that had the power to send shivers down my spine and make me feel both weak and strong at the same time.

'Shocking that you would,' Kol rolled his eyes, still annoyed with my interference to his teasing.

'Kol, do stop behaving like a spoiled child,' Elijah mildly reprimanded, making me bite back a grin as Nik wound his arms around my waist from behind and rested his head on my shoulder.

'The twins?' I asked, already knowing but wanting verbal confirmation anyway.

'Upstairs sleeping soundly. They just had their feed so they should be out for at least a few hours.' Nik murmured, placing a chaste kiss to my neck. I felt him smirk when my skin broke out in goose bumps.

'Good,' I sighed, placing my hands on top of his.

It had been three months since the twins had been born and we had all settled into a rhythm. Everyone helped out a little, and would probably help out more if Nik and I hadn't insisted on doing most things ourselves. For a while we hadn't known if we would have the chance to raise our kids like a semi-normal family, and now that we could we refused to take it for granted. Henrik and Hope were the most perfect little children on the earth, though my opinion might have been a _little_ biased.

Nik and I worked well as a team anyway, but since having the babies it was as if we could anticipate each other's moves and needs before _we_ even knew them ourselves. If I was changing the babies, Nik would prepare their bottles ready for when they were dressed. If Nik's panic and paranoia ever bubbled up and made him feel like he was going to be a failure of a father before he had even had the chance to become one, I was there to assure him that he was already a brilliant dad. If I felt like I was about to start crying with the kids when I couldn't get them to stop, he would somehow manage to hold me and one of the baby's and reassure us all into a state of calm. I could of course have used my powers to calm the babies, but it felt like cheating. No one else would have the ability to calm their children supernaturally, and somehow thought of doing it felt wrong. The idea of manipulating their emotions before they were old enough and mature enough to understand them themselves felt… cruel in a way. So I decided to keep them on a leash unless it was absolutely necessary and so far it hadn't been.

We were still living on the down low, though. Since we knew Ester was still a threat we had taken some precautions, much to Kol, Elena and Bekah's dismay. We decided that it would work to our advantage if no one knew that they had returned to New Orleans, and so they were all basically imprisoned to the compound. Kol and Elena didn't mind as much because they could distract each other, but Bekah was starting to get antsy; it was reaching the point that even her adorable niece and nephew couldn't distract her for long.

Another thing we had decided to keep a secret was the twins being born. No one outside of Elijah, Klaus and I had known it was going to be twins anyway, but it seemed important to pretend that the baby the quarter believed us to be having had died. And thankfully, Davina hadn't minded helping; she had placed a muffling spell around the compound to prevent anyone hearing anything from the outside. We had sworn her to secrecy, and I trusted that she wouldn't tell anyone what we were working so hard to keep a secret.

'Has Marcel heard anything?' Kol asked, a teasing tone clouding his voice.

That must have been what he had been looking at on her phone.

'No. Nothing new has come up since the death of the harvest girls. The quarter is pretty quiet.' Bekah responded, expertly ignoring her brother's attempt to bait her.

'Wonderful.' Elena mumbled, taking a seat on the couch.

My eyes snapped open at her voice; I had been so engrossed in Nik that I hadn't even sensed her come into the room.

'Well it's not as if mother's going to conveniently send an invitation telling us when and where we can find her.' Bekah sneered at her younger brother.

'Whatever, Bekah. All I'm saying is if you spent more time finding out information from your boy toy instead of flirting with him then maybe we would have more of an idea—,' Kol started but I cut him off by holding up my hand.

No one questioned me and focused their hearing to figure out what I had heard. After another definite clanging I gestured for Kol and Elena to go to the babies while the rest of us moved in the direction of the noise. Nik and I walked in front, with Elijah and Bekah following behind. I was trying to sense if there was anyone else in the house, but I couldn't pick up on anything which meant that whoever it was had gotten in and out in a flash. When I saw the platter that had been left by the gates on a wooden wheeled table, Nik and I shared a look of confusion and caution as we carried on forward. 

'Who ordered a platter on wheels?' Bekah asked, as we all stood around it.

There were grapes, cheeses, crackers, oranges, baguettes, juices as well as tea and coffee placed around the ominous silver covered platter. It was all very strange and I was about to ask what the hell was going on when the sound of something moving underneath the silver made me take a step back in surprise. Elijah and Nik shared a look before my mate braced himself and lifted the lid causing two black Starlings to take flight and escape through the open space above our heads.

I was still frowning after the birds in confusion when Elijah's voice garnered my attention.

'Well. It appears you were right after all, Rebekah.' He said, lifting the piece of card I hadn't seen and reading it.

'What is it?' I asked, noting that everyone seemed to have a knowing look in their eyes.

'An invitation.' Elijah stated, sharing a look of concern with Klaus before looking over to me, 'from our mother.'

Bekah took the paper from her bother's hand and read it before scoffing, 'bossy wench. This isn't an invitation, it's an order. Dinner. Your house. 8pm.' She rolled her eyes, making me smile and unintentionally releasing some of the tension in my shoulders.

'Well bossy-ness aside.' Klaus said, smirking at Bekah's remark, 'this may be the perfect opportunity to discover what she wants.'

I pursed my lips as they discussed the benefits and drawbacks of hosting this dinner. For starters, the babies were here and if Ester was she would be able to sense their magic as well as the magic the house probably emitted from the muffling spell. Even if that wasn't the case, I didn't want her anywhere near them. It wasn't clear from her note whether or not she knew that Kol and Bekah were back in town, but as soon as the thought entered my head I was sure she didn't. They were still cloaked with magic and they hadn't stepped a foot out of the compound since the twins had been born. That meant that they could take the twins somewhere safe. I considered actually hosting this meal and instead of feeling dread I felt irritation. Which meant that nothing horrifically bad was going to happen, but something frustrating.

I took Nik's hand, entwining our fingers before speaking and inevitably ending the conversation that was taking place.

'Let's do it.' I said confidently.

Three pairs of eyes stared at me, two in surprise and one in acceptance.

'What?' Bekah asked.

'Are you sure you have considered—,' before Elijah could finish, Hayley came bursting through the gates looking concerned and feeling even more so.

'What's wrong?' I asked her, stepping forward and squeezing her bare shoulder to amplify the comforting wave I was sending towards her. I felt my palm sting when I removed it, but I dismissed it as she started talking.

'A couple of witches have been out to the Bayou, not ones I have seen before.' She took a deep breath as if she was collecting herself, 'they were offering out moonlight rings in exchange for loyalty.'

'You don't think—,' Bekah started but I cut her off.

'I don't think, I _know_.' I huffed trying to squelch the anger growing in my stomach.

The rings that had been handed over to Hayley had been accepted graciously and had made the wolves even more loyal to Klaus and I, as well as making them more accepting of the treaty in the quarter. Now that they didn't have to worry about changing every full moon or not being able to defend themselves against an attack from a vampire or witch, they were incredibly relaxed. Of course, that only extended to the Crescent moon pack, as we had only had enough rings for them. The other packs in the Bayou were still paranoid and now even jealous of the Crescent's despite our assurance that we were looking into making more to include them. And we had—but the issue was that Genevieve had only been strong enough to do it because she had access to the ancestor's powers, and now she was gone none of the other witches did. At least not directly. Davina had been looking into a way around it while Jackson and Hayley had been searching for more of the kyanite stones.

'It has to be Ester. Who else would have the power to make them?' It was a rhetorical question.

'But why does she need werewolves?' Hayley asked.

I frowned, also confused by that. The answer hit me just as Nik opened his mouth to speak.

'She's going to try and overtake the city.' Nik whispered.

'That won't work.' I shook my head, squeezing Nik's hand tighter as I offered him some comfort.

'Kimmie's right.' Bekah agreed, continuing when everyone looked to her, 'not only do we have a pack of werewolves on our side, but we also have them living in peace with the humans, vampires and witches. She's going to need a lot more than a bunch of bribed werewolves.'

I nodded in agreement; that had been exactly what I was thinking. After we had introduced the rings, everyone had been on edge but once they had seen that the wolves were just happy to be equals to the other species of the quarter, everyone had relaxed. Business had been running smoothly, and the weekly meetings weren't nearly as tense. We had finally achieved what I had wanted when we arrived at this town, what Nik and Elijah had managed to build before Mikael destroyed it all those years ago. And I'd be damned if she was going to ruin it.

'What did they look like? The witches?' I asked, my eyes glittering with determination.

'Well one of the wolves, Jade, recognised the girl as Cassie. She was the last harvest girl apparently and the man no one is sure of, though he kept calling her "mother."' Hayley answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

I felt the temperature in the room drop my twenty degrees. There was no way that he would do this. We hadn't been able to reach him, but I hadn't been worried; he had been pissed when he left all those months ago and I had thought he just wanted some distance from his family. I had believed that, so much that I hadn't even considered to use my abilities to generate a feeling over his disappearance. If I had, we might have been able to prevent this.

'Finn.' Elijah said, shocked himself, 'it has to be.'

'Why would he be helping her?' I said, so quietly I wondered if any of them could hear me, but the stab of betrayal in my gut was making it hard to speak any louder. I felt like the air was being stolen from my lungs; I couldn't breathe and my skin felt like it was burning up.

'Love,' Nik murmured, but his voice sounded far away.

'Why would he do this to us?' I sobbed, my chest cavity might as well have exploded in that moment because the feeling of betrayal was becoming too much to bear.

'I don't know, love.' Nik's voice was gentle in a way that drew air into my lungs and bought my attention to him.

I gasped when I realised what was happening; the room was glowing a golden colour, and everyone, as well as me, was on their knees clutching their chests and crying in despair. This sight just made me sob harder, feeling guilty for being the cause of those I loved being in pain. But I was also confused, because the few times I had accidentally lost control, I had still felt like I had the power to pull it back, but in that moment I just felt… powerless. It didn't make sense. This reaction wasn't coming from me.

Nik bought my head to his chest; he seemed to be the only one unaffected by my powers. I didn't know why, but in that moment I was grateful as his soft caresses on my head and soft murmurings bought me back to myself, and put me back in control. The room stopped glowing and the wisps of gold stopped flowing from my hands. I wanted to look up and apologise for what I had just done, to tell him it wasn't me, but the soft rhythmic feeling of Nik stroking my head and the gentle kisses he was placing to my forehead led me to a deep sleep I didn't want to fight.

Klaus' POV

'Is she alright?' Elijah murmured, his gaze on the unconscious blonde in my arms.

I didn't respond because honestly, I didn't know the answer myself. I kissed her hair and inhaled, trying to calm my heart rate. I hadn't seen her lose control of her powers like that since the high school, when she had been angry with me for ordering Stefan to feed on some unsuspecting students. Since then she had been keeping control of her emotions, and only using her powers when she meant to.

'I've never seen her lose control like that,' Bekah said, concerned.

'I have, but only once. It was before she turned but it was never that… unstoppable.' I answered as I stood, bringing my fiancé with me and holding her bridal style.

'Even in the high school, she was aware of what she was doing and she never passed out from it.' Elena joined us in the room, without Kol.

'Exactly.' I agreed, my brow crinkling as I thought.

'What if Ester has something to do with this?' Hayley asked, coming to stand next to me and checking that Kimberly was still breathing.

'Of course,' Elijah breathed, shaking his head and elaborating when everyone looked over to him, 'mother must have already known that the Crescent's had moonlight rings, otherwise she would have tried approaching them months ago when she first awoke in Cassie's body.'

'She would have taken over her new body when Genevieve was killed. Which means that her going to the Bayou this morning was on purpose, she knew you had the rings,' I told Hayley, looking down to Kimberly's worried expression in her slumber. I sat down on the sofa and caressed the side of her face, when her concern evened out I continued, 'and she knew you'd come to us. I wouldn't be surprised if she used your entrance to set off Kimberly's powers.'

'How is that possible?' Hayley sounded doubtful and I couldn't blame her, she wasn't aware of what Ester was actually capable of.

'Did she touch you at all?' Elijah asked, knowing what I was thinking, 'when she got there?'

'She shook my hand, but she did that with a few people.' Hayley shrugged.

I heard Rebekah's sharp intake of breath but I was already turning over Kimberly's hand—the same one she'd placed on Hayley's shoulder when she got here, in an attempt to comfort her. And there it was. The mark of an aconite flower, surrounded by a circle burned into the centre of her hand.

'She's cursed her to stay in her own mind. It seems similar to the one used on Mikael when he returned from war,' I murmured thinking aloud, 'and yet it is also different.'

'It has most likely been adapted to ensure it's strong enough to keep her unconscious.' Rebekah said, coming to sit next to me and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

'It most likely requires the same herb to wake her.' Elijah said, stepping forward and crossing his arms over his chest.

'I'll fetch them.' I said, getting to my feet with the intention of taking Kimberly to our room.

'Wait aren't we missing something here?' Elena asked, her eyes trained on her sister as she spoke, 'Ester did this for a reason. She clearly doesn't want her present at this dinner later because she would be able to sense what Ester wanted to do.'

'Then we need to awaken her before tonight.' I declared, my voice determined, 'Rebekah you and Elena take the twins somewhere for the day, preferably outside of New Orleans. Kol you need to find a way to help us when mother inevitably body jumps, Elijah can you prepare for this bloody dinner and keep an eye on Kimberly.'

I didn't wait to see if everyone moved to follow my instructions and headed to our bedroom and placed Kimberly down on the bed. Her face was contorted into a frown and her skin was glistening with sweat. I brushed her soft long locks away from her face and softly caressed her cheek, smiling softly when she subconsciously leaned into my touch. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, closing my eyes as I inhaled her scent. She had to be okay. Ester kept trying to take her away from me, to take our children away, to take away the family we had built. The family I had always wanted. For centuries we had constantly been at odds and we had never all truly stood beside one another—I hadn't realised what a difference that made. Now we fought together and it was all thanks to her. I couldn't lose that.

I wasn't an idiot. Ester used to use this remedy on Mikael to help him sort through the troubles of war, but I would be a fool to think that she had used a similar remedy to ease Kimberly's mind. It was safe to assume whatever Ester had done had been initiated with the intention of turning her against me. Perhaps it would be similar to when she stole my memories but instead of making her forget me, she would taint her very memory of me. And that I just couldn't bear.

For centuries Elijah had been there to pick up the pieces when my rage got the better of me and set me on a path of redemption. I had needed him for a millennia, and I would probably always need him, but not in the same way I always had. Because somewhere along the line, Kimberly had become my reason for being, she made me want to be a better man, to be her partner. It was a relationship I had never pictured myself having, and I definitely never expected to be this content. I would be damned if my mother was going to rob me of that. After placing another kiss to her forehead, I left with the intention of doing what needed to be done. And then I was going to kill my mother.

I huffed in annoyance—I had been trekking through the bayou for bloody ages and I was starting to lose my patience. I couldn't find this bloody herb anywhere and I was starting to think that I was heading in the wrong direction. I was just about to call Elijah for help when my phone started to ring.

'Elijah. I was just about to call you.' I said, not trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

'I'll take it you haven't found the herb yet.' Elijah replied, sounding concerned.

'What's happened?' I asked, resting my free palm against a tree.

'Mostly things are running smoothly; Kol found a witch and the required ingredients to perform a soul branding spell. The twins are fine and I have the meal prepared—,'

'Elijah, whatever you're building up to tell me just spit it out.' I snarled, my fist curling onto the tree and breaking the bark.

'I came to check up on Kimberly and she appears to be getting worse.' He said so quietly I had to strain to hear him.

'Worse how?' I asked quietly.

'Her clothes are completely soaked through with sweat and she won't stop tossing and turning.' He told me and his own worry softened my anger a little.

'Have you tried going into her mind?'

'Yes and whatever mother has done to her prevents me from entering.' I could hear whimpers over the phone, sounds that weren't coming from my brother.

'Call Davina. A witch did this, perhaps a witch can help ease some of the effects while I find this bloody herb.' I punched the tree I had been leaning on with enough force to send it tumbling to the ground.

'I can help you with that,' A deep voice said from behind me.

I turned and immediately froze. It couldn't be—he was _dead_ I had held his body in my arms. This had to be another of Ester's tricks. I hung up the phone and started to walk away from him.

'Niklaus!' Hansel yelled, not wasting any time in catching up with me.

'I do not have time for another of Ester's tricks!' I growled, not ceasing in the fast pace I had set, 'I need to find this herb, take it back to my mate with enough time to prepare for this bloody dinner!'

'I know where that herb is.' He said and in the next moment I had him pinned to a tree by his throat.

'Well don't hold back.' I smirked and didn't attempt to hide my anger that promised certain death if he held back on me, 'tell me where it is.'

'I'll take you to it.' He said, not intimidated in the least.

'I don't have time to be led on a goose chase by one of Ester's creations.' I growled, throwing his body away from me and starting to walk in the direction opposite to where I had been heading all bloody morning.

'Well at least you're finally going the right way,' Hansel's sarcastic words halted my steps.

'You've been following me all morning?' I continued when he nodded, even more annoyed, 'then why didn't you say something sooner? This bloody dinner starts in two hours and I need to get back to wake my mate and back my brother up against our mental mother who is inhabiting the body of some unsuspecting teenager. I don't have time to gallivant in the woods!'

'It is clear your mate is in peril.' Hansel nodded in understanding and continued when he saw my confusion, 'I have witnessed many affects of this before, including your temper. It us understandable that your fuse is even shorter than normal given the circumstances.'

'Right, well now that we've established I have an incredibly short temper, how about you give me a better point of location rather than just pointing in one direction.' I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest. 

'Very well. But you should bring me with you as I know the proper way in which to prepare the herbs.' Hansel cocked his brow in challenge and I found myself briefly wondering if he was where I got my stubbornness.

'Fine.' I agreed through gritted teeth—he wasn't wrong about my rage.

'You know the clearing to the north of where the Crescent's reside? We need to get there.' He told me.

I had him slung over my shoulder as I speeded towards the clearing before he had even finished speaking. We arrived two minutes later and I threw Hansel on the floor none too gently, still not completely certain that he wasn't an attempt to lead me on a wild goose chase.

'Well?' I held my arms out, gesturing to the empty grounds around me, 'where is it?'

Hansel stood up and looked around before pointing to the ground to the far left. I headed in that direction without acknowledgement and found the tree he had pointed to was surrounded by vervain. I huffed, my patience hanging on by a strand and turned to look at Hansel. He didn't meet my eye but he did step forward and started digging up the required ingredient. While he was doing that, I pulled out my phone to text Elijah.

Me: _Almost have the herb, how is she?'_

Elijah: _Not good brother. I suggest you get back as soon as you can._

'Hurry it along will you?' I said, shoving my phone back into my pocket.

He didn't answer, which was probably best because no answer would have been good enough in that moment. He extracted the herb and while he prepared it into a balm I received news from everyone else. Kol had found a witch and had to rescue her from mother and Finn but she was now preparing to cast the spell. Rebekah and Elena assured me that the babies were fine. They had taken them to a seaside town and compelled some officers to not allow anyone else on the beach. I'd been sent a few pictures of them smiling as they played with the sand—it eased some of my concerns a little to know they were safe.

'Here.' Hansel's voice bought my attention away from my phone. He was holding a drawstring pouch out to me and I took it and started to walk away without a goodbye.

'I don't know what deal Ester has offered you, Niklaus, but I know you need all the help you can get to protect your children.' His words stopped me in my tracks.

'My _child_ is dead,' I told him, not bothering to turn around; there were a handful of people who knew that we had twins and I couldn't comprehend how Hansel could be one of them.

'I saw the birth before Ester pulled me from the other side.' He told me, causing me to turn around, 'I know that everyone, including Ester, believes them to be dead which is why I haven't, and will not, tell anyone.'

I stared at him for a long time, reading the sincerity in his gaze and not an ounce of deceit. Even still, I didn't know for certain that he was telling the truth… but I found myself wanting to believe he was, wanting to know what it felt like to have a loving, caring and supportive father, rather than the monster I had known. But my wolf was overpowering my desire for a parental figure, demanding that I go and cure my suffering mate.

'Go to her,' Hansel read my hesitation well, 'I will be with the Crescent pack when you're ready to talk.'

I was more than happy to leave the conversation—it was too intense for me to deal with in that moment. It didn't take me long to reach the compound and I didn't slow down until I reached our room. Elijah was right—it was clear from her clammy skin, greying complexion and pained frown that she was declining at an alarming rate. I pulled out the balm and applied a generous amount to her palm and sighed in relief when her complexion immediately started to return to normal. She stopped tossing and turning and her breathing went to relaxed rather than sporadic. I took her balm free hand in mine and kissed it before I delved into her mind, desperate to get her back.

Kimberly's POV

 _I didn't know how long I had been running for, but I knew that my feet were bleeding because of the rocks and bark under my feet and my legs were aching with the strain. I was human, wherever here was and I knew that I couldn't protect myself from whatever I was running from. Not in this form anyway. I was assured that this was a dream, seeing as I couldn't remember how the hell I had even gotten here. I came to a stop, needing to catch my breath and rest my muscles just for a moment. But a twig snapping to my right had me taking off in the opposite direction, I glanced over my shoulder as I ran, hoping to finally catch a glimpse of whatever I was running from when I ran straight into something… or someone seeing as two strong hands steadied me before I could fall. My body knew who it was before I did, if the sudden calmness washing over me was anything to go by. When I looked into the ocean blue eyes of my love I wasted no time jumping into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaling his scent._

' _I am so happy to see you!' I practically squealed, smiling when I heard Nik's chuckle in response._

' _Same here, love.' He squeezed me tighter for a moment and placed a kiss to my hair before putting me down, 'I need you to wake up.'_

' _If I knew how to do that, I would've done it ages ago trust me,' I grumbled, taking his hand in mine and entwining our fingers, 'I'm human here and I've been running for hours from god knows what.'_

' _Well then, it's obvious isn't it?' Nik smirked when I gave him an annoyed look, 'you need to defeat whatever you're running from in order to get out of here.'_

' _How am I supposed to do that? I'm practically defenceless right now.' I was two seconds away from stamping my foot—I felt powerless as a human, I couldn't even tap into my other powers in this world._

' _You're one of the strongest people I know,' Nik murmured, lifting my chin with his index finger._

 _The sincerity in his gaze thawed my frustration a little and I nodded. I leaned up to my tippy toes to place a chaste but passionate kiss to his lips, that I was about to deepen when I heard another twig snap behind me. I turned around straight away and when I saw what—well, who—it was my jaw dropped.  
_

' _What the hell?' I muttered, stepping back when he smirked and moved forward._

' _I knew it,' Nik murmured from behind me, his hands coming to rest on my waist protectively._

' _Knew what?' I wondered, giving the other evil looking Nik a warning look to stay away as I waited for an answer._

' _Ester did this to turn you against me.' Nik whispered, sounding a mixture of worried and angry._

' _Why would this turn me against you? I mean,' I looked over to the other guy and scoffed, 'he doesn't even look like you.'_

 _Both Nik's cocked their eyebrows in disbelief and amusement and I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing—now was not the time._

' _Okay, so how the hell am I supposed to defeat a version of you!' I exclaimed pointing over to the lookalike in annoyance that only increased when he smirked at me._

' _You cannot defeat me,' the lookalike said, holding his arms out arrogantly, 'I am the Original hybrid-,'_

' _Woah—he's like an exact replica,' I snorted when both Nik's sent me a glare, 'he does have a point though.'_

 _I casually strode over to the fake Nik and gestured for my Nik to keep him distracted. I found a stick on the ground thick enough to be a stake and I carefully stored it in the waistband of my shorts before making my way back over to my Nik. I leaned down and dipped my thumb in the dirt before standing up and drawing a line on the side of Nik's face._

' _What are you doing?' Nik asked, moving to wipe the dirt away but I stopped him giving him a look._

' _Well aren't you two adorable.' The mirror image said, stepping closer._

 _I didn't look away from my Nik, giving him an assuring smile when I saw the fear in his eyes. He truly was afraid that Ester was going to turn me against him._

' _How pathetic you are,' the doppelgänger said, going from mocking to disgusted in an instant, 'how could you lower yourself to have such a pathetic weakness?'_

 _Klaus looked away from me and over to the fake Nik, his face contorting with rage._

' _You're going to want to shut up,' he stepped forward, so that only an inch separated them._

' _For the record I'm the most adorable weakness you've ever seen.' I said, crossing my arms over my chest._

' _Now is not the time to be cute, love,' my Nik smirked making me laugh quietly._

 _I could practically sense the promise of a fight in the air and it was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I needed to stop it before it got to that._

' _This is getting out of hand.' I said, stepping to intervene but before I could, different Nik took my Nik and pinned him to a tree by his throat. He didn't hold him there for long and the roles where reversed in a flash. Before I knew what was happening they were fighting too fast for my human eyes to follow, but I could hear the roars mixed with the cries of pain._

' _For god sake, STOP!' I yelled, surprised when both of them actually listened to me._

' _End this, love,' one of the Nik's begged gesturing to the other, 'kill him.'_

' _No kill him,' the other disagreed._

 _I studied both of their faces carefully, looking for a sign that revealed my Nik to me. I stepped forward to the one that was to my right._

' _What are you doing? That's not me!' The other Nik said, but I ignored him._

' _She knows you're lying,' the other said and I grinned, allowing him to believe I was going to him._

' _Kimberly,' his voice was desperate and concerned and it almost made me snap._

' _Seems like she's made her choice,' the mirror smirked, looking over to my Nik._

 _I took that opportunity to drive the stake stored in the waistband of my shorts through the heart of Nik's mirror image._

I gasped and shot up in the bed as I regained consciousness. Was it really over? I looked around the room and was happy to see it was the room Nik and I shared in the compound, and I was reassured that I was in my supernatural body when I heard multiple heartbeats downstairs.

'Love?' Nik's voice snapped me out of my concentration and I looked over to him, my face breaking out in a relieved smile.

Instead of answering him, I leaned over and bought his lips to mine, smiling against his lips when I felt his relief and desire. Kissing Nik was something I would never tire of; he made my body feel _alive,_ like he was caressing every single one of my nerve endings with the electric shocks his touch sent through my body. I bit his lip, wanting more, wanting the kiss to deepen and he was more than happy to oblige. When his tongue entered my mouth, he met mine in a passionate dance that made me moan in pleasure. I didn't remember climbing onto his lap, but I was made aware of my position when Nik's hands slid up from the bend of my knee, up the backs of my thighs to cup my ass and give a tight squeeze that startled a sound of pleasure from me. When he grinned against my mouth I ground my hips against his, smiling when he growled and clutched me closer to him. My hands found his curls and yanked his head back gently but firmly so that I could crash my lips to his once more. He was driving me crazy; his hands were exploring my body, gently caressing wherever they went, my head was swimming with the feel of him, with his scent. I needed him. Now. I moved my hands from his hair down to his shirt to rip it open—

'Ahem,' the sound of someone clearing their throat snapped us out of our kiss.

I looked over to the doorway and fought a sigh of frustration. In all fairness, Elijah did look a little embarrassed, and I could feel he was uncomfortable.

'Impeccable timing as always, brother,' Nik grumbled, readjusting me so that I was sitting on his lap rather than straddling him.

'I apologise for the interruption but mother will be arriving shortly.' He said after glancing at his pocket watch.

'What?' that startled me a little and I glanced over to the bedside table to see it was 6:45pm, 'I've been out _all_ day?'

'Yes you have, the herb to cure you took most of the day to find.' Nik murmured, caressing the side of my face and smiling when I leaned into his touch.

'Thank you. For helping me.' I kissed his jaw, enjoying the way his stubble tickled my chin.

'You don't need to thank me, love, we always look out for each other.' He said, kissing my forehead after he had spoke.

'If you would please dress smartly.' Elijah said, drawing our attention back to him.

'Yes dad,' I teased with a laugh that grew a little louder when I noticed Nik's smirk and the small upturn of Elijah's lips.

'We'll be down soon, brother.' Nik told him, his hand running up and down my calf, making me melt into him even more.

Elijah nodded and left the room, leaving us to get ready in ten minutes. Thank god for vampire speed. I showered first as I stank from all the sweating I had done whilst in the magical mental purgatory and I quickly dried my hair—Bekah would have been proud—before I borrowed one of Elena's dresses to wear. I assumed "smartly" meant dress and heels and I decided to comply, no matter how much I hated it. I wore a deep blue floor-length dress that was fitted to the waist where it then gently flared out to the ground. It had one strap that rested on my right shoulder where it was decorated with black flowers and silver rhinestones. I paired it with some black strappy heels—courtesy of Bekah—and some diamond teardrop earrings Nik had gotten for me just because he thought they would suit me. I tied my hair up in a ballerina bun, happy when the first attempt seemed to suffice. After I'd applied a little make up—blush, bronzer, mascara and a deep red matte lipstick, I was ready for this stupid dinner. Despite my vampire speed, I hadn't been ready before Klaus and so once I was finished I made my way to the dining room, where I was hoping I could get some answers before the wicked witch arrived.

'I don't see why her guard would drop just because I'm dressed like a bloody lawyer.' Nik grumbled, making me grin before I entered the room but when my eyes landed on him I felt them darken with lust.

'Well you're the hottest lawyer I've ever seen.' I murmured, without really meaning to, but when I saw Nik's sexy smirk I didn't care.

I walked over to him, planning on taking the seat to his right while Elijah sat across from me, but before I could sit down Nik took my hand and pulled my body flush against his.

'You look beautiful.' He whispered, his eyes shining with awe.

I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest as I smiled shyly—would he always make me feel like a giggling schoolgirl with a crush? I hoped so.

'Thank you, love.' I placed a kiss to his jaw and sat in the seat he had pulled out for me.

'So where are the kids?' I asked, keeping my voice low encase any witches prepared to sneak up on us.

'Rebekah and Elena have taken them out of town for the day.' Elijah told me and I felt myself let out a sigh of relief.

'Good. Where's Kol?'

'He's working with a witch to brand Ester's soul so we will have an advantage when she decides to jump into someone else's body.' Nik told me, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. I gave him a grateful look; he knew I was feeling useless and guilty that I hadn't been able to help all day.

'How did she do it?' I murmured, looking in between both Mikaelson's.

'She cast a transference spell when she met with the Crescent's. When she shook Hayley's hand, her body held onto the magic until you touched Hayley and it incapacitated you.' Nik explained, sounding and feeling pissed about that himself.

I sent a calming wave towards him out of reflex and squeezed his hand tighter.

'Well she's conniving, you have to give her that.' I shook my head in annoyance, 'but how did she know?'

'Know what?' Nik asked but I was stopped from answering when and African-American man entered the room.

'You three haven't changed a bit!' He turned to address Elijah, 'linens and silk to disguise your pathetic self -loathing.' He then turned to Klaus but I interrupted him before he could utter another word.

'You and your mother invite yourself to dinner and you then have the nerve to insult us all. I had no idea you had such a strong backbone, _Finn_.' I knew he could see the rage and betrayal simmering behind my eyes. I was quite amused when he failed to hold my gaze for more than a few seconds.

'What's wrong? You can throw around insults but you can't look me in the eye?' I laughed humorlessly.

'Mother will be joining us shortly—,' he was cut off by me.

'About that,' I stood and in a flash I had him against the wall by his throat, 'I've had the privilege of spending the day trapped in my own head a feat _your_ mother managed to accomplish because of you.'

'What are you talking about, Kimberly?' Elijah asked, sounding confused.

I could feel that Klaus already knew, 'Ester wouldn't have known how to get to me if she hadn't known about Hayley. The only way she could have known about her importance to this family is if Finn told her.'

'I had to,' Finn gasped out, struggling to get air into his lungs.

'You didn't have to betray us, Finn,' Nik said before I could, coming to stand beside me, 'you made that decision all on your own.'

Nik gave me a look, silently telling me to release him and after a moment I did, begrudgingly.

'Like you even care—you banished Rebekah, leaving the rest of us to follow and you have the nerve to talk to me about betrayal!' Finn yelled, gesturing his arms around frantically.

'You know, if you hadn't disappeared off the face of the earth, we could have told you what _really_ happened,' Elijah told him taking my arm and directing me to my seat—he could clearly sense my anger, as well as Nik's because once I was seated, he did the same with Nik.

'I know what really happened,' he waved his hands dismissively and took the empty seat next to Elijah.

Before anything else could be said, a girl who looked no older than sixteen entered the compound, but I could tell it was Ester from the dread that wrapped around my throat.

'How lovely it is to see you all.' She smiled, sitting down at the other head chair and glancing around at us all.

'Wish I could say the same,' I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of the wine and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was blood.

'Yes I can't say we've had the chance to bond after-,' she started but I cut her off, amused.

'After you tried to link us all together and attempted to use me to kill us all?' My gaze drifted over to Finn, 'now who was it that stopped that?'

Finn looked down and his guilt practically slapped me in the face.

'I have already forgiven Finn for his temporary lapse in judgment.' Ester waved a dismissive hand.

'Heaven forbid he stops his entire family from being killed by his estranged mother.' I muttered sarcastically, taking another sip of blood and almost spitting it out when I heard Nik quietly laughing at my remark.

'Back to matters at hand,' Elijah said, his own amusement carefully concealed.

'Yes, why don't you say what you came here to say, so this wretched night can end?' Nik said, leaning forward on the table, his eyes glittering with disdain as he observed his mother.

'It pains me that you and Elijah look at me with such disdain. I wish you could see that my every action has been to protect you!' Ester said, sounding pathetically sad.

'You actually believe that, don't you? I knew you were a liar, but now I see you're utterly delusional.' Nik snapped back.

'If you can forget the hatred that you cling to and remember all the times I've mended and healed you.' She broke off for a second when Klaus laughed sarcastically and I bit back a snort before she turned to the other brother, 'Elijah, do you recall the day Niklaus challenged your father to a duel? Did I leave your brother to die alone? What did I say, when you came to me and asked me to help him?'

'That you would rather die than to see any of your children suffer.' Elijah sighed.

I remembered that day—Nik had told me about it when we talked about the few times he believed his mother had actually loved him. That day he had challenged Mikael to a duel, wanting to show him he was actually strong, but he lost. Mikael had wanted to take a starling necklace, which Ester had given to Nik, as a prize but Nik fought back and actually managed to shock him. Out of anger, Mikael had impaled him in the shoulder with a sword, leaving him stuck to a tree where Ester had come to save him. As she worked, he told her about what had happened, how he refused to let Mikael take the gift his mother had given him, the gift she had spelled for him.

'The necklace,' Nik whispered, his voice tinted with realization, 'It wasn't spelled to protect me. It made me weak.'

'I sought to protect you from yourself! If you had killed your father in that duel, or anyone else in the course of your life, you would have activated your curse!' Ester tried to justify her actions, but she only made Nik even more furious.

I didn't jump when he slammed his hand down on the table before he yelled at the woman who called herself his mother, 'you ruined me! You left me to suffer at the hands of a father who valued only strength!'

'I kept you from becoming a beast for as long as I possibly could!' She replied, desperation seeping into her tone, but it was no match for Klaus' anger.

'Oh, you lied to me! To hide your own transgressions because of your own fear!' he slammed his hand on the table again before standing as his anger grew, 'my whole life, I sought the approval I was denied by the man I thought was my father! You turned me into the weakling he hated.' Elijah stood and started to pace while Nik glared at his mother, 'look at me! You rant and you rave about the monster I have become, but you, Mother - you are the author of everything I am.'

I got to my feet and placed a hand on his arm, amplifying the comfort I was sending towards him, as well as the love I felt for him. He looked over to me, his eyes glimmering with gratitude at the reminder of how much he was cared for, despite the cruel upbringing he had to endure. He placed a kiss to my forehead and wound his arm around my waist, relaxing into me a little. Our attention was snapped back to Ester when we heard her gasping for breath before she slumped in her seat. I noted Finn's genuine surprise as Elijah dashed forward to catch her.

'She's gone.' Elijah said before rushing to attack Finn.

It was no use, as Finn used magic to detain him, before I could do anything, Nik vamped forward and I couldn't help but roll my eyes when he too fell to the floor. Before Finn could use his magic on me I held out my hand, sending a wave of exhaustion towards him that was strong enough to render him unconscious. As I helped both Mikaelson's off the floor I borrowed Nik's phone and called Kol—I had a feeling I knew where Ester went.

'Hello Nik, the spell is nearly complete.' Kol said, sounding mildly impatient.

'Actually it's me, you need to get out of there. I have a feeling Ester's spirit is on her way to inhabit that body.' I told him urgently, sighing in relief when I heard a _whoosh_ that suggested he had left.

'Thanks for the heads up, bestie.' Kol breathed.

'No problem. Where were you? I think we should pay her a visit when she wakes up.' I said, getting agreeing nods from Elijah and Nik.

'Lenore's shop.' He said, sounding like he was in a busy street, 'I'll head back to the compound.'

'Maybe you can take care of Finn when you get here,' Nik mused, loud enough for Kol to hear through the phone, 'he's unconscious in the dining room.'

'It'll be my pleasure, brother.' I could hear Kol's smirk through the phone before he hung up.

 _Five minutes later._

'I was wondering if you were going to arrive.' Ester said in her new body.

'Well here we are.' Nik stepped forward with a smirk and his arms outstretched.

'Now what do you want, mother?' Elijah asked, impatient.

'It's a terrible thing, for a parent to fail their child.' She said, looking between Klaus and I, 'as you well know.' She threw a powdery substance forward when she saw me attempt to race forward, 'but now, I offer you freedom. The gift of a new body. Freedom from being a hybrid, from being a vampire.'

We all shared a glance of disinterest before looking back over to Ester as she continued to speak.

'I have the ability to return to you all that you have lost. To make it so that you could have a _suitable_ family of your own.' She looked over to Klaus and I, 'more children of your own. Wouldn't that be nice?' She smiled and I found myself thinking she was lucky that I was powerless to wipe that smile off her face.

'How dare you use the loss of our child to manipulate us?' Klaus' voice boomed around the shop, making Ester flinch.

'How dare you suggest our family isn't currently suitable.' Elijah added, his voice much calmer but the anger was still present.

'I think I speak for us all when I say thanks but no thanks,' I said sarcastically, trying to calm myself down; I was practically charged with my anger.

'I'll give you time to think it over,' She acted as if we hadn't spoken, raising her hands to disturb the electricity in the shop.

The lights flickered, the shop trembled, the bulbs broke, Nik wrapped his arm protectively around my waist, the windows shattered and Ester disappeared in a flurry of Starlings as they dove in through the window.

'Well say what you like about her, but she sure knows how to make an exit.' I muttered sarcastically, laughing at Nik's unimpressed look.

 _Back at the compound._

'The girl and Finn were gone before I got home.' I heard Kol tell Elijah as I left the shower.

'That's not surprising.' Elijah replied, he paused for a moment before continuing, 'have you thought over mother's offer?'

'While it is tempting to be able to practice magic again, I refuse to give up the life I have wanted for the past thousand years.'

'I'm happy to hear that brother.' Elijah said, sounding like he was smiling.

I was snapped out of my eavesdropping when Nik pulled me to his front with his hands on my waist. I grinned when I saw he was shirtless, and couldn't help but run my hands down his chest, playing with his belt buckle.

'You know, it was unfair that we were interrupted earlier.' I said casually, biting my lip to hide a smile when he smirked at me.

'We won't be interrupted this time, my love,' he said and without another word his lips went to my neck while I undid his pants and pushed them down.

He kicked his clothing away and started walking me backwards towards the bed. His smirk when I squealed made my knees weak and I reached up to pull him on top of me. He slid his hands gently up my arms, across my collarbone to the knot that held my towel together before slowly undoing it. My whole body was humming with anticipation—since we had the twins, we hadn't really had anytime alone and crying babies wasn't the best aphrodisiac. Which was probably why I felt like I was about to explode as his hands caressed every part of my body. The cool air met my skin as the towel fell away, but I felt myself turn to molten lava from the heat in Nik's gaze as he took me in. I bought my hand to his curls and slammed his lips to mine, as our tongued dueled, Nik's hands roamed, gliding down my side, over my ass, down my thigh to the bend in my knee where he propelled my leg over his hip and slid into me in one smooth thrust. I gasped against his mouth, welcoming the familiar pleasure of having him inside me, filling me completely.

His lips moved from my mouth to my neck, nipping and sucking on my pulse point as he thrust himself in and out of me at a consistent speed. I moved my hands to his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin as the ecstasy overwhelmed me. I felt him growl against the crook of my neck when my nails drew blood and a second later I felt his fangs pierce my skin; I was unable to hold back a cry of uncontained desire.

'Nik,' I moaned, lifting my hips to meet his rhythm as he continued to drink from me.

He must have heard the desperation and lust in my voice because he lifted my other leg around his waist, allowing him to penetrate me deeper all the while continuing to drink from me. After a few more thrusts I fell apart around him, my head thrown back and mouth open in a silent scream. Klaus removed his fangs from my neck, licking away the stray blood before he rested his forehead against mine, staring into my eyes as he reached his undoing moments after me.

I snuggled into Nik's side, throwing my leg over his hips and allowing our limbs to be tangled together. I was completely and utterly spent.

 **Hey guys! It's been a while I know, I'm sorry! I've been deciding what to do with this chapter, and plenty chapters ahead, for a while now! I hope you enjoyed, please leave me a review if you did! See you next time :)**


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